Kawaii Akuma, The Cute Demon
by Thetimetel
Summary: When the Surujin clan and the Kusarigama clan bicker one too many times, the Rensakage decides to team up their children with Kawaii. The catch? Kawaii Akuma is a 7 year old boy that is crippled by a severe motor skill deficiency.
1. Prologue

Ok, this is my second attempt to make a good fanfiction story. My style of writing is third-person, and I switch who the chapter's following almost every chapter. This is my first attempt at a prologue, but I think it was rather good.

This fanfiction takes place around naruto's plot, and there will eventually be run-ins with characters from the main series, but there are some facts that I changed to suit my own story.

Update: 1/6/12

Alright, there are a few changes that I'm making to this part. I now have what I want Kawaii to look like in my mind, and it's not entirely like what I had before. As such, here are the differences:

-Kawaii's hair-color has changed from grey to purple.

-Kawaii's irises are red.

-Kawaii's age is now given. While this is a vague guess, during the Chunin Exams Kawaii is around seven years of age.

Update: 1/4/13

Wow. Over a YEAR, and I haven't come back to this story in so long . . .

I've decided to work on editing the chapters I have already up. Nothing huge, I've just improved my writing skills since the time I made this and I want to try fixing some mistakes I made.

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><p>Rūkī Kodomo sighed as he leaned against the railing in front of him. The Chūnin exam preliminary round was well underway. Indeed, although the current fighters had only begun seconds ago, this fight looked like it was going to be over <em>extremely <em>fast. The sand ninja named Kankuro was completely immobilized by the sound ninja.

"_Wow_."

Rūkī turned his head to look at the source of the voice. Not too far away from him was a young kid with purple hair, who was watching the battle excitedly. "That's really cool!"

That only got Rūkī to shake his head in confusion. He knew the kid's name was Kawaii, but what he couldn't understand was why the kid was here. Well, not just that. _How _was the kid still here?

As Rūkī wondered about that, the kid's eyes suddenly opened wide as he gave a cry of shock. It was imitated by several nearby people, and when Rūkī looked down at the battlefield he was startled to find the sound ninja was now restrained by a wooden puppet. "What - how did this happen?"

It was one of Rūkī's squad members - Sapōto - that told Rūkī the answer. "Right after the sound ninja should have broken his neck."

Really? As Rūkī watched he was startled when the strange wrapped object Kankuro carried around unwrapped itself, revealing the real Kankuro. In very little time Rūkī heard bone crack, and proctor Hayate stated that the battle was over. Not long after that Rūkī casually watched the digital board to see if he would be part of the next fight. While he was calmly watching it, he heard one of the other genin watching it not quite as calmly. "Come on! Me! COME ON!"

Rūkī simply eyed the genin that had spoke. It was a girl that was standing near him. She seemed to be on the same squad that the very young boy was on. The other teammate was a boy with white hair. He looked tired, which made sense considering he had fought one of Rūkī's squad members. Poor Michi . . . he put so much time and effort to get here just to be knocked out in the preliminaries.

When the board gave the name, Rūkī immediately smiled at Sapōto. " It looks like it'syour turn."

Rūkī could only grin as Sapōto leapt right down into the battle area. It seemed that she was obviously excited at the prospect of fighting. But Rūkī was startled when he realized who Rūkī's opponent was. Rūkī turned with shock as the genin girl that had excitedly spoke before smiled at the young boy that was her team member, telling him that it was his turn. The boy . . . Kawaii Akuma, according to the board, smiled back at the girl. "Y-yeah."

Rūkī frowned. From what he could tell Kawaii was about six or seven years old. Everyone else here TOWERED over him. What was more Kawaii's kind smile, combined with the clearly gentle and kind personality he possessed, just didn't suit a ninja. He wasn't imposing in any way. The _one_ thing that looked imposing about the boy - and that wasn't saying much - was his strangely red eyes, but even they just seemed to radiate kindness. To top it off, Kawaii's right arm was _badly_ burned. As the boy grunted his teeth and slowly turned towards the stairs, his arms limp at his sides, Rūkī was completely baffled. "Sapōto never gets this lucky."

The girl on Kawaii's team almost immediately turned to look at Rūkī. "What?"

Rūkī just shook his head as Kawaii slowly made his way to the stairs. "He can't even _walk_ correctly."

To Rūkī's surprise the girl, Supaiku if Rūkī remembered correctly, didn't look offended at the obvious insult to Kawaii. Indeed, the girl actually gave Rūkī a slight grin. "When Kawaii was young his brain was damaged. His motor skills are pretty much shot. It takes a lot of effort just for him to get his body to stand. A normal walk is just too much for him to -"

Both of Kawaii's teammates cringed as Rūkī heard a commotion. He turned, and was partially amused when he saw Kawaii tumbling down the stairs. When the young boy got all the way to the bottom, he only _just_ put his left arm out in time to avoid slamming his face into the ground. As Kawaii slowly worked to get up, Rūkī suddenly noticed something startling. Only one of Kawaii's legs would move at any given time. What was more, his arms hung limply from his side as he then _slowly_ made his way over to where Sapōto stood. Sapōto, understandably, looked just as surprised.

Rūkī eventually shook his head. "How . . . who let _him_ become a ninja? I'm going to assume he can't use ninja tools at all."

The white-haired boy chuckled at that. "No, he has to concentrate hard to grasp something. He could never be able to correctly use a kunai, shuriken . . . pretty much anything."

Rūkī frowned. "Then he must be a ninjutsu or genjutsu user?"

The black-haired girl chuckled. "What, you mean use hand-signs? Not at his level of motor skills."

Rūkī almost grinned as he gave a sarcastic comment. "Oh, I get it. He just acts cute and it makes it very awkward for the opponent to fight. He's quite skilled at that, obviously."

As a man behind Kawaii's team members chuckled Rūkī turned to face him. The man spoke with a deep voice that startled Rūkī. The voice just didn't fit the man's figure. "Don't get us wrong, I _certainly_ see why this confuses you. It seems strange that he has seemingly no way to combat someone, don't you think?"

Of course it did. Rūkī tried to think of some way the boy could help his squad even with his limitations, but he soon shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "So what, he's the strategist?"

As the man nodded, Rūkī sighed. He turned and watched as Kawaii finally reached the spot he was supposed to be in. Sapōto looked just as confused as Rūkī felt. Why even bother with a match? Kawaii was completely defenseless, he could _barely_ move by himself. Still, as the Proctor started to speak, Kawaii cleared his throat. "I-I'm sorry sir, but can I . . . say something to Sapōto before the match?"

The proctor looked rather confused, but eventually nodded. Kawaii gave a slight smile as he turned to face Sapōto. "Look, I . . . I don't like to hurt people, it just feels wrong to me. But I _will_ do it if I have to. I don't want to insult you, but . . . if we fight each other, I'll probably hurt you so badly that you will need to go to the hospital. However, it's possible my attack could kill you. I know this will likely be taken the wrong way, but . . . if you don't want to get hurt, you should give up."

Rūkī was completely confused. If the child wasn't so young, and if he didn't look so serious, Rūkī would have thought the boy was _mocking_ Sapōto. Sapōto flinched, and as rage appeared on her face Rūkī knew Sapōto wasn't going to surrender. Kawaii obviously realized that as well. "Look, I just don't want to hurt you."

Sapōto made her answer very clear when she got into a fighting stance. "I wouldn't worry about your opponent if I was you, kid. I'd worry more about whether your opponent will let you _live_ after that!"

Kawaii sighed again. "Well, I tried. I'm sorry for interrupting, Hayate sensei. I've said what I wanted to say."

The Proctor frowned, but then spoke. "Sapōto and Kawaii, you may start at any time."

Sapōto grinned as she grabbed out her senbon needles. "I'm going to make this slow and painful you bastard!"

Rūkī heard Kawaii sigh as he raised his left arm. Even that small act was obviously a challenge to the poor kid from the way he gritting his teeth. Rūkī didn't bother to watch this one. He knew that Sapōto had this won. She'd probably turn the poor kid into a pincushion.

But when Rūkī looked up at the board he heard the other genin gasp as a powerful gust of wind suddenly whipped past Rūkī's face. His ears began to ring from the noise of a large explosion and he heard a quick, cut-off cry of shock from Sapōto followed by a sickening crunch. And it all happened before Rūkī even had time to turn around. When he did turn to look his mouth opened in shock.

Sapōto was embedded into the wall on the other side of the fighting field. She had quite a few strong burns covering her body, and soon Rūkī leapt down into the field and dashed over to her. He knew the fight was over. There was no way Sapōto saw this one coming. Her eyes were completely unfocused and she wasn't moving at all. She was either unconscious or . . .

Rūkī sighed in relief when he saw that Sapōto was breathing. She was still alive. With that problem out of the way Rūkī looked at the floor. He couldn't believe what he saw. Starting from where Kawaii was standing was a large area of scorched floor leading to Sapōto's current position. Kawaii looked worried, but otherwise unharmed.

The only thing Rūkī could get out of his mouth was "How?"

How had Sapōto been defeated by an opponent without any genjutsu, ninjutsu, or taijutsu? This . . . this didn't make any SENSE! When Rūkī looked at Kawaii, Kawaii gave him a guilty smile as he looked the other way. When the proctor stated that Kawaii was the winner Kawaii smiled again then began his strange shuffling walk back to the stairs.

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><p>Update 224/12

Hello! Before I continue onto part 2, I want to go back through these chapters and work on editing them. I want to clarify areas that don't make sense, look at facts I may have forgotten, work on the structure of the story . . . you know, editing. If there are any areas you aren't understanding, or areas that you have a very difficult time following, just let me know. I watch the reviews like a hawk, so I'll certainly catch it if there's a new review. If you don't feel comfortable with that, just PM me. I promise I won't murder the first person that states they have noticed problems.

On that note, if there are parts you like in particular, or parts that you would like me to expand on, just tell me.

Update 1/4/13

This should be the only chapter that has any huge changes. One of the main changes is in Rūkī's personality. Originally he was a hyper and naive character. However, now that I've actually worked on his character a bit Rūkī is now a calm and patient person.

Another thing I changed was the way Kawaii speaks. I am not afraid to say that I made him a bit too mature the first time around, and I had him use words he wasn't supposed to know.

I don't have a planned schedule for when I'm going to work on what story. I use reviews to improve my ability as a writer. Because We Four Freaks has gotten so many reviews (as of this update, 105), it's a priority to my other stories. However, this story has the second highest amount of reviews so I'm going to start paying attention to it too. The PROBLEM is . . . well . . . as of this update, it's only got 4 reviews compared to We Four Freaks' 105. While YES that somehow earns it second place . . . that's a HUGE gap.

So, to recap: I'm not dead, I've been working on We Four Freaks because I'm getting a HUGE number of reviews on it compared to my other stories. I DO need to take a break every now and then though, so I'll work on this story when I need that break.

Update 2/6/13

Nothing big, just corrected a part where I called Surudoi a guy. I can't believe I didn't notice that sooner :(


	2. Six Months Ago

Okay, this is the first chapter chronologically planned, occurring-as the chapter name implies-six months before the prologue. Kawaii and his team are from the Village of Chains, and the village leader is the Rensakage.

I had a LOT of fun making this chapter. I worked hard to show Kawaii's personality as well as show the severity of the damage his brain has taken. His motor skills are terrible, when standing he can only move one limb at a time.

Update: 1/6/12

Like with most of the other chapters, I have some MAJOR plot changes. One of them counteracts the old chapter's name. INSTEAD of this chapter being Five Years Earlier (as the old title implied) this chapter is NOW only six months earlier.

Again, I would like to explain that Kawaii now looks completely different. Unlike the grey hair he used to possess, his hair is now purple. While I know this counteracts the prologue, his eyes ARE green at this point in time.

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><p>Kawaii yawned as he woke up. He smiled when he looked outside and saw the sun. On days that it was sunny it was a good day for him. Kawaii grunted as he lightly pushed his blanket off of him. As always, Kawaii found the most difficult part of the day to be getting up, there were just so many ways he had to move, and since he had to try really hard to move . . . well, it took him a while.<p>

Once he finally got out of bed, he stumbled over to his clothes, gulping when he saw the shorts he was going to be wearing. Kawaii grunted from the effort as he lifted his right hand, letting it rest lightly on the shorts before Kawaii began his 'grasping' motion. As always, his hand refused to obey him at first, his fingers only slightly moving. It took some time before he got them to close enough to grab the shorts. As Kawaii always did, he had the shorts plummet to the floor then manipulated it with his hands and legs so he could step into it and pull it up.

A good twenty minutes later, Kawaii was _still _trying to pull up his shorts. Whenever he thought he might have them, he suddenly lost his hold on them and they slid down. It took a lot of effort for him to try to lift them, there HAD to be an easier way to do this . . . but as always, Kawaii simply continued to try again and again. Eventually, he finally had gotten them pulled up. He gulped as he reached for the buttoning part of the shorts.

It took a lot of effort, and ten more minutes of his morning, but he eventually got the button fastened. It was just . . . it was so _hard_ to move his fingers like everyone else could, even buttoning his shorts was a very difficult thing for him to do. As he spent another five minutes to close the zipper, he smiled. His shirt was much easier. After he finally managed to grab part of it he carefully used his arm to help bring down the shirt, trying to avoid having to grasp it. Overall, he got dressed in about forty-three minutes.

He smiled as he stood in front of his mirror. Wearing his favorite clothes, a green t-shirt and blue shorts, he thought he looked just right for a seven-year-old. His wild purple hair, caused because he had such a hard time brushing it, reached about his shoulders in height. His green eyes seemed to sparkle in excitement, and he smiled. "It only took me forty-three minutes to get dressed! It's a new record!"

Kawaii then looked at the door, and slowly turned his body to face the door. Carefully moving one leg at a time, he shuffled his way over to the door. As with his hands' inability to move his fingers without temendous effort, Kawaii was incapable of walking like a normal person. While his legs were hard for him to control, Kawaii had learned how to shuffle. Of course, he had to admit it had its drawbacks. If he wasn't careful, he'd lose his balance. Because he couldn't move his arms in sync with each other, or even at the same time, Kawaii would have no way to regain his sense of balance and would fall flat on his face.

Kawaii cringed as he realized the Rensakage must have visited him, because his door was completely closed. Kawaii sighed, let's see . . . his record for opening a door was about thirty seconds. Kawaii quickly looked at the clock-seven thirty-four in the morning with the second-hand all the way down-and then raised his arm to the doorknob. He flinched and attempted to back up as the doorknob turned by itself. Unfortunately, his legs weren't able to move like that, and it ended with Kawaii falling over. He hit the back of his head against the floor, getting him to cringe from the pain. He slowly got himself up to a sitting position then felt a slight bump growing on the back of his head.

"Careful, Kawaii."

Kawaii looked up to see the Rensakage looking at him. Because Kawaii was an orphan, having been abandoned at birth, he didn't live with his family. The Rensakage of the Village of Chains was kind enough to take care of him. Her long red hair went well with the white robes she wore, in Kawaii's opinion. Her yellow eyes seemed to stare through Kawaii, but he knew that she wasn't really as stern as she looked. The Rensakage frowned at Kawaii, her voice seeming to have a melody repeating every word. "I think you've got enough brain damage already."

Kawaii smiled at the Rensakage, not hesitating to nod at her comment. It wasn't that Kawaii was weaker than other people. It was that his mind had been damaged sometime after he was born. His brain just didn't know how to move his body like other people could. Kawaii had learned to not let that bother him. After all he couldn't change it. Indeed, he considered himself fortunate that his head was still capable of moving like a normal person's, talking was very easy for him.

"Are you going to stay there all day?"

Kawaii blushed as he worked on getting up again. It was just as hard for him to get up as everything else was. Once he finally got to his feet, the Rensakage left the room, and Kawaii quickly swung up his arm to stop the door from closing. He cringed as the door hit it, but quickly got the door all the way open before going through it. Once in the hallway, Kawaii stumbled behind the Rensakage.

She continued to look back at him in annoyance. Kawaii wasn't certain whether he had accidentally forgotten something again until the Rensakage spoke. "Don't you think that you could _try_ to walk like a normal person?"

Kawaii smiled. "I can try, but it would result in me landing on my f-"

As he spoke, Kawaii suddenly lost his balance. Fortunately, the Rensakage reached back and helped to steady him. Kawaii politely thanked the Rensakage. It really meant a lot to him that she was there to help him. The Rensakage mumbled back 'don't mention it', but Kawaii knew she truly liked hearing that he was grateful. Everyone liked hearing when someone was really appreciative of an act of kindness. As Kawaii and the Rensakage walked farther down the halls, soon the Rensakage handed Kawaii a scroll. "This goes to the Surujin clan. Shouldn't take too long, right?"

Kawaii gave another kind smile. He liked going outside and visiting people, they were so kind to talk to. Maybe he'd finally find his family! He happily accepted the scroll, forcing his hand to close on it with much more effort than he normally gave. After putting it into his pocket, so he wouldn't have to keep his fingers grasping it the whole way, he stumbled out of the building.

He smiled as he saw the sky, it was a beautiful day. Whenever someone said hi, Kawaii would smile and say hi back. Ok, the Surujin clan was . . . one left (and a hi to Supaiku) and all the way down to the building over there. Because of the strange shuffle-stumbly walk he had to do, it took Kawaii about five minutes to reach the Surujin clan's place.

He vouched to knock on their door instead of try to open it. For one, that was impolite, and they might think he was trying to rob them. For two . . . well, it was much easier to hit his limp hand against the door then to attempt to grab onto the doorknob. Almost immediately, a large dangerous-looking woman opened the door, her weapon-a Surujin, just like the rest of the clan wielded, at the ready. Kawaii gulped, but when the woman noticed him her stance changed, her face brightened, and she lowered her weapons. "Oh, Kawaii! Hi there!"

Kawaii sighed in relief as the woman got down to eye-level with him, a kind smile on her face. "How are you?"

Kawaii smiled as he said he was very happy, and that he liked how the sky looked so kind today. The woman smiled as she nodded, and asked if Kawaii was there for business or fun. Kawaii reached inside his pocket, focusing hard to try to grab out the scroll. "Oh, don't worry Kawaii."

Kawaii smiled as the woman reached into his pocket, taking out the scroll herself. "Thank you."

The woman smiled at Kawaii. "No reason to make you overwork yourself."

Kawaii smiled as he nodded, then started to turn around.

"Hey, have you had anything to eat yet?"

Kawaii flinched as he said no, he hadn't really thought about that today yet. The woman smiled and invited Kawaii inside, and soon Kawaii was sitting down at a table with the woman helping him eat. He would gently tap her whenever he was done with one bite, and she'd kindly hold up the food for him to eat. Kawaii was grateful that his head still worked like normal. When the woman was called away by someone else from the same clan, she kindly stated that she would be back to help Kawaii finish then walked away.

Kawaii waited patiently then immediately looked at the door to the next room when he heard an outburst from the next room. It was the same man that had called the woman away, his voice was tough-sounding and reminded Kawaii of a big, tough-looking man. "_**What?**_ Pay for-that was the Kusarigama clan's doing!"

Kawaii tried not to listen, but the man was too loud for Kawaii to ignore. "This is _bullshit_! First our 'great' Rensakage pulls that crap with Nanabi _then_ she forbids anyone of talking of . . . I am going to go over there, and I am going to give that messenger a _piece of my mind_!"

Kawaii gulped as the door flew open, and he saw the angry man looking at him in shock. "_**Kawaii**_? Oh, I should have known. Damn that bitch . . . she always sends him when . . . ugh, sorry Kawaii."

Kawaii gulped as he blushed. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

The man gave a rough smile, his scarred face seeming to lighten up a bit as he forced himself to laugh. "Oh, don't worry. I'm pretty certain the entire village was eavesdropping there. I don't control my temper well."

Kawaii shyly smiled as the man walked into the room, soon sitting next to Kawaii with a smile as he gently grabbed Kawaii's food. "Here, I'm guessing this is yours?"

Kawaii smiled as the man helped Kawaii eat the last few bites. Once Kawaii was done, he thanked the man and the woman for being so kind. The two of them laughed and asked if Kawaii was going to go back to the Rensakage's office, which Kawaii nodded to. Kawaii was surprised when the man chuckled. "Well, we're going that same way. Why don't we carry you there?"

Kawaii flinched, and his face flushed with gratitude. "Well . . . I mean, I wouldn't-I mean, I _couldn't _make you-and that wouldn't be my intention, but-"

The man grinned as he lifted Kawaii up, putting Kawaii right on his shoulders. "I'm hearing yes."

Kawaii smiled as he stayed up there, the man making sure to keep a good hold on Kawaii's legs as he ducked out of the main door. The man and the woman then smiled as they walked through the streets, many other people smiling as well when they saw Kawaii up on the man's shoulders. Soon, they reached the building. Kawaii barely avoided introducing his face to the top part of the door when he tapped the man's head, which in turn got the man to remember Kawaii was up there. After they got inside, the woman smiled up at Kawaii for a bit. Then they entered Rensakage's office-room. "What are you doing?"

The Rensakage's eyes turned angry when she saw Kawaii up on the man's shoulders, and when the woman held up the scroll the Rensakage shook her head. "Put Kawaii down _this instant_!"

Kawaii gave a slight smile as the man let him down, but the woman next to him seemed angry. "Why? It's not hurting anything."

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth as she glared at the man and the woman. Kawaii began to wonder if he had missed something when the Rensakage spoke venomously. "Kawaii's a big boy, he can take care of _himself_. Yet here _you_ are coddling him like a little child!"

Oh, okay. It was the Rensakage being overprotective. It touched Kawaii that she cared for him so much. As Kawaii was ordered out of the room, Kawaii was touched that the Rensakage didn't want him to have to hear their fighting. It really meant a lot to him.


	3. Taking A Break

Have you ever had one of those people that don't really understand that someone hates them? Kawaii kind of is like that. But in her defense, the Rensakage's past experiences have been coming back to haunt her. That normally causes a great deal of stress to a person

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><p>The Rensakage glared at the little <em>cripple<em> as he stumbled out of the room. She couldn't understand, how had it all gone so _wrong?_ Now she was left with caring for the little _moron_ for who knows how long because . . . ugh! "Rensakage?"

The Rensakage looked up when she was reminded of the OTHER thing that was irritating the shit out of her. The leader of the Surujin clan and his wife were there, both looking pissed off at the message.

The Rensakage put Kawaii out of her mind. She had other, more pressing matters to attend to. "What?"

The Surujin clan leader almost got the Rensakage to laugh as he pointed at the scroll. It reminded the Rensakage of how the child who ate the last cookie in the cookie jar would point at their sibling to pin the blame on someone else. "Why should _we_ pay for the damage that was the Kusarigama clan's doing?"

After suppressing the urge to just go and kill the moron in front of her, the Rensakage spoke to him. "You are _not_ paying for all the damage, it's half and half. After this, the 'Great Cripple' will be sending a message to the Kusarigama clan about this exact same incident."

As she expected, the Surujin clan leader refused to yield. "Oh, I see. Because we were both involved, even though our side _specifically_ did no damage to any of the objects in that shop, we absolutely _have_ to pay half?"

Unable to contain herself anymore, the Rensakage slammed her palms against her desk. "_BULLSHIT!_ I was there, I _saw_ you do property damage, and it is _my_ job to figure out who's to blame. BOTH sides almost destroyed that building, so _both_ sides will pay the price! Do I make myself _clear_?"

The man gnashed his teeth, but said no more. His wife on the other hand wasn't quite as happy with it. "Bullshit, _my lady!_ Just like ALWAYS, you're eyes don't see a damn THING! FIRST, you don't help with the disappearance of Nanabi's jinchūriki. THEN you start putting curse seals on the tongues of over half the damn village, and just look at this! Look at _Kawaii!_ He _adores_ you, even though you are so cruel to him! You continually call him things such as 'the great cripple', you _deliberately_ tell him to do things you _know_ he can't do, and you don't even feel _pity_ for him!"

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth. "Oh, I see. You think that I have the _time_ to raise a child? You think that I have the time to raise a _cripple?_ I am the Rensakage, _not_ a mother! About Nanabi, have you _forgotten_ that it was _me_ that finally found the jinchūriki's _corpse?_ And yet Nanabi _didn't _suddenly level the village, I wonder _who_ risked their life to deal with that thing? Now stop belittling me about things _you_ don't understand and _pay what's due!_"

For a bit, both sides glared at each other. Then the woman grabbed out some money, slammed it onto the desk, and the two of them stormed out of the office. The instant they slammed the door shut, the Rensakage sat back down, feeling the sweat pour down her face.

That had been too close. The wife of the leader of the Surujin clan had almost put it all together. What they hadn't figured out was that everything they had noted, the disappearance of Nanabi's jinchūriki, the Rensakage having so many people given the curse seal of silence placed on so many people, then the sudden appearance of Kawaii, it was all connected.

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth when she thought about the cripple. That plan had been going so _well_ before . . . ugh! She couldn't _believe_ those two had the _nerve_ to . . . whatever. That was past. Now next up, she needed to get the message to the Kusarigama clan. "Kawaii, come on in."

She grinned when she heard the 'Okay' from Kawaii. Maybe this time would be the time she finally managed to piss him off. It had almost turned into a game she played, she had _yet_ to see Kawaii angered. "It's a matter of urgency, Kawaii."

After he gave another okay, she listened as his unique footfalls made their way to his office. She knew he couldn't go any faster, but that didn't stop her from stressing out Kawaii. "I don't think you understand the meaning of urgency, Kawaii."

She heard Kawaii at the door, and she immediately raised the pressure. She knew Kawaii couldn't open the door quickly. "_Urgency, Kawaii_! That means _now!_"

She heard Kawaii speed up, soon he was trying to grasp the doorknob. It should only take a little bit more pressure to finally get him to snap, to finally grow angry. "_**NOW!"**_

Even before her voice stopped resonating through the air, the door practically flew open and Kawaii quickly stumbled into the room, looking flustered. Good, now he would only need to learn that his orders didn't really need-

"Twenty seconds!"

What? The Rensakage was left baffled at Kawaii's joyful expression. "Kawaii, I need you to now bring this scroll to the Kusarigama clan."

Kawaii cocked his head in confusion. "That's what the rush was about?"

Okay, so she still had a chance to get him angry. "Oh, there was no rush. I just wanted to-"

But to her shock and frustration, Kawaii's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oh!"

Aw, _DAMN IT_! Not another 'oh!' moment! The Rensakage couldn't believe it as Kawaii smiled even wider. "I get it! Thanks to the fact that I felt the need was urgent, I was able to take ten seconds off of my fastest door-opening time! Thank you, my lady!"

Rensakage was left fuming in rage at Kawaii's inability to be angered as Kawaii grabbed the scroll and stumbled towards the door. This was _ridiculous_! How could the child _not be angry?_ Here she was, forcing him to speed up and _exhaust _himself, and he was never _angry _at her! She just couldn't believe it! She had just been _thanked_ by doing something that should have ended with Kawaii being _furious_ at her?

No, she had to focus. That wife of the Surujin clan had just gotten too close to the truth. The Rensakage needed to fabricate a story that would raise her own status. If she could get Kawaii hated-thus making him finally hate HER-that would be a bonus. She needed them to keep from knowing the truth about Kawaii, and how he came to be under the Rensakage's 'protection'. Twenty minutes later, she was still working on that thought when the door burst open and the Kusarigama clan leader walked in. Oh, _goodie_. It was another argument that she had to do. And this time Kawaii was enjoying a _piggyback ride!_ This was _ridiculous! _"Get the Great Cripple off of your back _now!_"

The Kusarigama clan leader looked completely startled that the Rensakage had said that, but she didn't care. She was in a foul mood at the moment. As the Kusarigama clan leader set Kawaii down, Kawaii looked at the Rensakage with big eyes. Ah, so _that_ was the way to piss him off? "You think I'm . . ."

The Rensakage and the Kusarigama clan leader were both taken off-guard when Kawaii broke out into a broad smile. "_**Great?**_ Thank you so much, my lady! You don't know how much that means to me!"

No way. This was ridiculous. _Kawaii had __**completely**__ tuned out the word 'cripple'_? She couldn't believe it as Kawaii left the room happy. How stupid could one person _**be**_? "Huh."

The Kusarigama clan leader looked at the Rensakage with a confused expression. "Just a little naïve, huh? Now let's get down to business. You want us to pay _how much_ for a fight that was instigated by the Surujin clan, _and_ a fight in which they did _all _the property damage?"

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth at the foolish man. "I am _not_ in the mood to negotiate. The Surujin clan already handed over their share of the money, now it's time for your side to hand over _your_ share."

The man gnashed his teeth as he reached for the money. "Well, there's no way I shall let those _savages_ outdo me. I'll prove my clan to be the better in every way. That _includes_ confessing our crimes."

The Rensakage gave a slight smirk, but her posture must have given her relief away because the man chuckled as he handed over the money. "They certainly _do_ like to argue, do they not?"

The Rensakage nodded as she accepted the money. "When I agreed to be the Rensakage, I had _no_ idea I would be holding back two dogs to stop them from going at each others _throats!_"

The man gave a slight chuckle as he turned around, but when he opened the door he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "By the way . . . I am curious as to where Kawaii came from."

The Rensakage frowned, and reinstated the lie as if sticking to her story would make it true. "He was found abandoned. That's all."

The man grinned cruelly as he spoke again. "Well, I wonder . . . he looks a lot like . . . _those_ two. I would be more specific, but I can't because of the curse seal on my tongue. Now that I think about it . . . didn't _those_ two have a child born to them right before their disappearance?"

The Rensakage frowned, trying to quell the uneasiness in her stomach. This was bad, the man was correctly guessing Kawaii's heritage . . . but he didn't have all the facts he needed to accuse her of something. No, she was more worried that he would _find_ those facts by himself. She didn't trust herself to speak, she could give away vital information by mistake. If the public knew of her actions, of her _involvement_ in that experiment . . . well, losing her place as Rensakage would be the _least_ of her worries. "I do not keep tabs on what everyone looks like. I expect it is nothing more than coincidence."

To her surprise, the man left it at that. The Rensakage almost sighed in relief when the man left, but soon sobered up. She needed to figure this out. If the two clans put their heads together then they would be _so_ close to the truth . . . it sent chills up her spine.

No, that wouldn't happen. The Surujin clan and the Kusarigama clan were fierce enemies, they both had that blood-feud going for so long . . . the Rensakage sighed as she realized it just wouldn't happen. No, she should instead be nervous if a third party heard both side's theories and put them together. She gulped at that thought. It wouldn't even take much thought to . . .

With a sigh, she got up. She needed to take a walk to quiet the storm of her mind, and to come up with a plan just in case the worst should happen. It _did_ occur to her that the correct thing to do was to accept the consequences of her actions, but now that she was no longer so inexperienced that idea seemed . . . dangerous. Her mature self would never have agreed to it, and that thought that she had done it before tormented her to no end.

"My lady?"

When the Rensakage turned around, she was both startled and annoyed by seeing Kawaii. Even now, here was the result of her most grievous actions . . . it felt like the world was taunting her, demanding she face the consequences even though that most certainly would result in death. "I'm stressed at the moment and you're not helping."

As the Rensakage began to walk more through the halls, she was surprised when she felt Kawaii's small hand brush against her own. She looked down, and saw Kawaii smiling at her. "I can help, follow me!"

As the Rensakage watched, Kawaii forced himself to turn around then stumbled away. When he looked back at her eagerly, the Rensakage, intrigued to say the least, followed him. Kawaii stumbled through the halls, his very presence seeming to taunt the Rensakage.

Soon, Kawaii attempted to climb some stairs. It only took Kawaii one fall back before the Rensakage decided to help him up, she didn't have all day! But as she got all the way up, she was startled to find them on the roof of the building. Why . . . As the Rensakage looked at Kawaii, Kawaii smiled and held up his arm. It took a few seconds to realize he was attempting to point at a stool up on the building. That was odd, what was a stool doing up here? "This is my favorite spot to relax."

The Rensakage froze in shock, Kawaii was . . . he was actually trying to help her calm down? This was . . . huh, ironic to say the truth. The very thing that was causing her so much stress was trying to calm her down, but . . . "I fail to see how this gets anything done."

It was . . . _cute_ that Kawaii was trying to help her, but how was sitting on the stool supposed to help her? Kawaii smiled as the Rensakage asked him to demonstrate, and soon the Rensakage watched as Kawaii painstakingly sat himself down on the stool. Soon, he smiled as he lifted his arm to 'point' at the sky. As the Rensakage looked up, all she really saw were clouds. What Kawaii said startled her. "That one looks like a person."

She looked up in confusion, but soon . . . yeah, she kind of saw it. It wasn't very _clear_ or anything, but it was there. The head was a little large, it reminded her of . . .

She wasn't entirely certain how it happened. All she knew was that soon she was sitting on the stool, pointing out what different clouds looked like with Kawaii's eager help. She almost forgot about everything else as she focused on the clouds, and for the first time in _ages_ she smiled. Once the two of them had identified clouds that looked like people, dogs, dragons, kunai, pencils/senbon needles, and a large grinning face, the Rensakage realized she still had a job to do.

She was shocked to find herself almost . . . her thoughts were so much clearer, she felt ready for more work. She found herself almost grinning at Kawaii. "How . . . I admit it. That helped a lot. Just . . . how?"

Kawaii smiled at the Rensakage. "Whenever I feel unhappy, I like to take a break from life and just let my mind wander."

The Rensakage grinned as she got up. "Unhappy? I have NEVER seen you without your smile, Kawaii. What could possibly make you unhappy?"

Kawaii blushed a bit before he answered. "I-it . . . I mean, it's almost . . . I feel embarrassed that everything takes me so long to do. I keep finding myself just wishing I was . . . well, normal. Whenever it gets bad, I come up here and sit on the stool. The stool means a lot to me, I got it up here all by myself!"

The Rensakage froze. He . . . but with his hindered motor skills, he shouldn't be able to . . . then again, that was why he was so proud of getting the stool up here, because it was so difficult for him to do. Kawaii's face flushed with pride as the Rensakage complimented him on getting the stool up there. As the two of them reached the stairs, the Rensakage gently helped Kawaii down the stairs without even realizing it. She didn't even notice the change in her personality, to her it felt normal. As she spoke to Kawaii about how the Surujin clan and the Kusarigama clan were driving her crazy with their constant bickering, Kawaii actually frowned in confusion. "I just . . . I don't understand. What's the point in holding a grudge?"

The Rensakage almost froze in place. Kawaii didn't seem to notice, he soon stumbled out of sight going who knows where as the Rensakage pondered over Kawaii's words. He _refused_ to hold a grudge, because he saw no point in it? Eventually, the Rensakage sighed as she headed back to her office. She still had quite a bit of work she had to do.

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><p>Alright, just clearing a few things up here. Kawaii DOES have brain damage, but his intellect and personality aren't truly affected by it. He's not a 'cripple' in the sense that his legs and arm are injured. Instead, his mind can't understand how to get his body to move properly, as such he has a hard time moving his limbs because it's overworking his brain to get more than one limb to move. He's one of those people that you pity because they aren't as lucky as the 'normal' person, yet he's accepted that fact. The main thing that Kawaii did to help calm the Rensakage down was not him pointing out the clouds to her. It was that he finally got the Rensakage's mind off of her work, he helped her by letting her taking a few-minute break from her work by doing something intellectually stimulating.<p>

Hopefully the next chapter will come soon. See, I'm really working on these to help improve my writing style. As such, feedback for what people like and don't like would be greatly appreciated.

Update 2/24/12

_Seriously_, extra emphasis on the feedback! How can I improve if no one's willing to tell me of my flaws, or strengths?


	4. Better Then You

So I FINALLY have another chapter! Hopefully the one after this won't take as much time to manifest. I've been working a lot on the future plot, and I've got a few ideas I'd like to toy with. Still, these ideas are for much farther in, so I should be able to get the next chapter done soon.

I worked hard on this one, and I'm pleased at the outcome. So without further ado, here's the chapter!

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><p>Supaiku Surujin yawned as he entered the classroom. As he walked to his seat, Supaiku shot a glare at the black haired girl a few tables in front of him. In Supaiku's eyes, the girl was ugly not because of her looks, but because of the fact that she was of the <em>Kusarigama<em> clan. She was one of _them_! As Baransu Sensei began the lecture, Supaiku began doodling in his school journal of the many ways he could kill Surudoi.

He could always wrap the chain of his surujin around Surudoi's neck, but he would have to be careful. If given half of a chance Surudoi would be capable of ensnaring Supaiku in her powerful genjutsu. Supaiku knew how Surudoi fought. He had only fought her about 100 times already. She was a dangerous opponent, her favorite genjutsu not only immobilized the opponent but it could also be inflicted from a distance. All she required to inflict it upon her opponent was even the tiniest path of chakra.

Hmm . . . that meant that if his weapon was in physical contact with her at the same time that it was in contact with him, she could easily run her chakra through his Surujin all the way to him, catching him in her genjutsu and giving her more than enough time to get out of his trap and to counter. Then again . . . Supaiku was excellent when it came to creating traps . . . hmm . . .

If he attached a few wires to some of his lengths of chain, then he could manipulate the chains to his advantage and have them wrap around Surudoi right after he let go. He could then use his Surujin to deal a fatal blow. Yeah, he liked this one! This would be an excellent one to use on her after class was-HEY!

Supaiku flinched as his journal was whisked out of his hands. He looked up to find Baransu Sensei looking at his journal with very clear irritation. "Yep, just like I thought. ANOTHER drawing, and yet again it's just more proof that this blood-feud is out of control. I think I'll keep this drawing as evidence."

Baransu Sensei then walked over to Surudoi's spot. Supaiku grinned as Baransu grabbed Surudoi's journal, getting a yelp of shock from Surudoi. Baransu simply shook his head as he walked back to the front of the classroom. Because the two of them no longer had their journals, Supaiku and Surudoi settled with sneaking glares at each other during the rest of class. It seemed to take forever for class to be over, and during that time Supaiku had thousands of ideas go through his head of how he would kill Surudoi. When the bell rang, Supaiku grinned. It was time to _finally_ kill that- "Supaiku Surujin and Surudoi Kusarigama, I want to have a word with you two."

Both Supaiku and Surudoi gave groans of frustration, not this again! As the class cleared out, Supaiku and Surudoi glared at each other. This was ANOTHER fine mess she had gotten them into! Once the class was cleared out, Baransu cleared his throat. "Okay you two. I am _sick_ of this, this damn _obsession_ you two have!"

Supaiku was going to comment, but Surudoi beat him to it. "Correction, the obsession _he_ has."

Baransu shook his head as he glared at both of them. "No, the obsession that _both_ of you have! You don't take _any_ notes, you don't do _any_ of your own work, and I am _sick_ of it! This blood-feud between your clans is _ridiculous_. Do you two even know _why_ you hate each other?"

Supaiku grinned, this was an easy one. "Of course I know why, Sensei. She's a _Kusarigama _clan member."

Surudoi glared at Supaiku and retaliated with a voice that held all the venom of a viper. "That's just what I would expect from a _Surujin_. You're lower than dirt and it is _my_ duty as a member of the great Kusarigama clan to _send you to hell!_"

As the two of them got up and drew out their weapons, Baransu began forming hand signs. "Wind Style: Binding Sky-Chains!"

At the same time, Supaiku and Surudoi's arms went to their sides. Supaiku looked down, and was shocked to see . . . nothing. It felt like he was bound in chains, but there was _nothing_ there! "_Huh?_"

Supaiku looked up to see Surudoi struggling against whatever was binding the two of them, but being a member of Kusarigama she didn't have the strength or the intelligence to break free. Yet as Supaiku tried to do the same, he failed as well. "Don't bother."

The two of them looked at Baransu, who had his hands pointed at both of them. He wore a dangerous look as Supaiku felt the 'chain' that was binding him move of its own accord. As Supaiku's surujin began to move through the sky, it suddenly made sense. "Chains made of . . . _air?_"

Surudoi rolled her eyes even as the invisible chains binding her removed her weapon as well. "Ugh, it's not worth dumbing it down so one such as _you_ could understand."

Both Supaiku and Surudoi turned as Baransu spoke, his voice laced with furious rage. "You two brought _weapons_ onto the Academy grounds? That is a _very_ serious violation of the rules!"

Supaiku gnashed his teeth. "There is _no way_ that I'm going into a room with a _Kusarigama_ clan member unarmed!"

Surudoi chuckled, catching both Baransu and Supaiku off-guard. It was only when Supaiku noticed Baransu flinch that he realized what was going on, Surudoi was pulling a fast one with her genjutsu! She chuckled as her eyes met Supaiku's. "Just because I'm immobilized doesn't mean I'm useless, unlike _you_, Supaiku. We both are connected by the same chain, you piece of _dirt!_ Genjutsu: The Snake of Chains' Embrace!"

At once, the area around Supaiku became fuzzy. _Great_, now he was . . . ugh! As he heard Surudoi's devilish laughter, a length of chain shot up from the ground. Supaiku tried to dispel the illusion, but like always Surudoi's skill at genjutsu far outclassed his defenses. The chain hissed like a snake before it wrapped itself around his neck. Supaiku had to remain calm, it was only genjutsu. But as the chain constricted, Supaiku felt it around his own neck. No, that wasn't right. This was part of the Genjutsu. It messed with his sense of touch, made him feel like the illusion was real. He just had to remember that it wasn't actually real. Supaiku concentrated hard. He had to think through this.

He still couldn't move his own arms. It could be an effect of the genjutsu or else Baransu's technique was still affecting him. Ok, dispelling genjutsu . . . ugh! As he 'felt' the chains constrict tighter, he realized this technique was still dangerous for him. If she 'made' it constrict too much, he wouldn't be able to breathe! He hadn't really paid much attention during the dispelling genjutsu part of the class, and he was regretting it now.

"Enough!"

The chain vanished as the world came back into focus, and Supaiku clutched at his neck, gasping for air. That was too close. He had to be more careful, he would have been at Surudoi's mercy-which since she was a member of the Kusarigama clan she had NONE-if Baransu hadn't intervened!

Speaking of which, Supaiku was no longer bound by those chains after all, it must have been undone during the genjutsu. He had to learn more about genjutsu. He couldn't let it control him like that! "Aww, did my technique tire you out?"

Supaiku glared at Surudoi. That piece of . . . ugh! "That's _it!_"

Supaiku quickly went through his hand signs and opened the scroll he had hidden in his shirt just in case. "Ninja art: Chain Charmer!"

Supaiku grinned as the scroll flew into the air and attached itself to the ceiling above Surudoi. As Surudoi looked up, five chains shot out from the scroll. One grabbed her by the right arm, one grabbed her by the left arm, one grabbed her by the waist, one grabbed her left leg, and the last one grabbed her right leg. Supaiku grinned as he held out his open hand then quickly clenched it into a fist.

The chain obeyed his orders, tightening its grip and then hoisting a startled Surudoi up into the air. As Supaiku manipulated the chains with his own chakra, he soon had Surudoi hanging from the ceiling spread-eagle and unable to move. With a cruel chuckle, Supaiku stepped forwards with a kunai in his hands. "Pathetic, Surudoi. You weren't even bound, yet you just _stood_ there as you were restrained? What?"

Surudoi winced as Supaiku had a sixth chain go around her forehead, forming some sort of snug headband. "Were you giving up? Do you admit that you are inferior to me?"

Supaiku chuckled as he manipulated the sixth chain to force Surudoi to nod. She gnashed her teeth then got Supaiku by surprise when she spit in his face. As Supaiku cleaned off his face, he chuckled. "Fine, I didn't expect something so childish."

Supaiku grinned as he heard a chuckle from the doorway. He turned around as the white-haired man with green eyes applauded him. "Not bad, Supaiku. However, you need to get a little bit more . . . _creative."_

With a frown, Supaiku cocked his head "How so, dad?"

His father chuckled as he made a few motions with his fingers then Supaiku looked back to see Surudoi being manipulated by the chains. He chuckled as Surudoi was soon hog-tied. However, Baransu suddenly spoke up. "Damn it! Set her down!"

Supaiku's father sighed as he snapped his fingers. The chains simultaneously released Surudoi, and she fell to the floor about ten feet below her. The scroll then sucked up all of the chains and fell from the ceiling, hitting Surudoi on the head before rolling over to Supaiku who picked it back up. As Surudoi got up Supaiku's dad grinned at Supaiku. "As tempting as it is, you shouldn't be fighting her."

What? But he was the one that . . . as Supaiku tried to understand, his dad suddenly burst out laughing. "Because she has a _serious_ disadvantage! She's of the Kusarigama clan! She's about as dangerous as Kawaii!"

Supaiku joined his dad in laughing, and soon followed his dad out of the room. As they grinned at each other, his dad suddenly frowned and looked behind them. Supaiku turned around, but he saw nothing. He frowned as he suddenly noticed . . . had it been that dark outside a few seconds ago? "Is it supposed to rain today?"

Supaiku turned to face his dad, and flinched as he noticed the hallway was entirely empty. What . . . what was going on? He paled as he heard his dad yell out in pain, then turned to find his dad hoisted in the air by four chains, one grabbing each arm and leg. As his dad shouted for Supaiku to run, the chains suddenly tightened until . . . Supaiku watched in horror as his dad was ripped into pieces. He couldn't believe it, what . . . As demonic laughter filled the air Supaiku began to back away from the writhing chains still holding what remained of his father. When he felt a chain grab his arm, he turned and tried to get it to let go.

Supaiku flinched when everything immediately changed. The chains became his father, who was holding Supaiku's hand. As Supaiku looked around, he saw Surudoi and . . . and her mother, that _bitch! _Surudoi and her mother grinned cruelly as Supaiku blushed, he had just got caught in another genjutsu! But . . . but it had seemed so . . . when did it stop being reality? "You're no fun, you bastard. If you had just waited a _tiny_ bit longer, I would have gotten your son to crap his pants!"

As Surudoi began laughing hysterically Supaiku grabbed back out his scroll. But before he could use it, his father gently grabbed Supaiku's hand and shook his head. "That one doesn't work on the old bitch. We'll settle this some other time."

Supaiku nodded curtly before walking with his father. As they left the Academy, Supaiku's father held up Supaiku's Surujin. As Supaiku took it with a thanks, his father spoke. "Baransu held you two back _again?_"

Supaiku nodded, getting his dad to grumble. "Son of a . . . is he _still_ preaching that both clans should stop the blood feud?"

Supaiku nodded, causing his father to gnash his teeth. "He should know better than that, sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong!"

Supaiku agreed with that, how DARE Baransu . . . eventually, Supaiku sighed. "I need to figure out how to counter that damn genjutsu!"

His father grinned. "It's a bitch, but the trick is learning when it's taking effect. Surudoi's not good at hiding it, she'll shout out whatever genjutsu she's using. In your case Supaiku, you have to learn to concentrate your chakra and then let it out in one blast to disrupt the genjutsu. We'll practice on that when we get home _after_ you and I have a chain duel."

Supaiku's eyes lit up, _yes!_ That was his favorite way to pass the time! Once the two of them got home, the two of them went to the training arena with grins. After getting to opposite sides of the arena, Supaiku and his father both grabbed out their Chain Charmer scroll. As they both tossed the scrolls down, they both made the hand-signs. "Ninja art: Chain Charmer!"

Ten chains appeared to grow out of Supaiku's scroll, and his father grinned. "You think you're ready to control ten at once?"

Supaiku grinned as he nodded. His father nodded back as he concentrated. Ten chains erupted from his father's scroll as well. Supaiku grinned, he knew the rules. Both sides control their chains and attempt to reach the other person. The first person touched lost.

As his father's chains shot towards Supaiku, Supaiku moved his chains to block them. He grinned as he quickly wrapped five of his chains around his father's, then shot the other five over to where his father was. His father surprised Supaiku when his chains broke out of Supaiku's chains' grips, and before Supaiku could react he found all ten of his father's chains wrapped around him.

As his father grinned at him, Supaiku sighed. "Fine, you got me. I thought that . . . I-I'm still a little shaken by that _bitch_'s earlier trick."

His father chuckled as his chains retracted to his side of the arena. "Remember son, you have to have them meet with equal strength. Ten chains versus five will overpower them quickly. You only need ONE chain to reach the opponent, and you shouldn't attempt to use more in case your opponent breaks through your defenses. It's always best to let the excess stay around you so if your opponent breaks through, you won't find yourself a sitting target. Are you ready to try again?"

Supaiku grinned, and soon the two of them clashed again. This time Supaiku started the fight, spreading out his chains to keep his father from blocking them all at once. His father spread out his own, and Supaiku grinned as he had his chains entwine with his father's. Supaiku then called out an eleventh chain, which quickly whipped over to his father's side of the field. But just before it should have hit, two more chains shot out from his father's scroll, one which blocked the eleventh chain. The other one shot into the air, and Supaiku raised another chain out of his own scroll to block the twelfth chain.

Supaiku froze as cold metal touched his leg. His father grinned as Supaiku looked down to find a chain wrapped around his leg. "To your left."

Supaiku followed the chain with his eyes, and flinched as he saw that one of his father's chains had untangled itself from Supaiku's, and had snuck over to Supaiku's side as Supaiku had been focused on the twelfth chain. Supaiku cringed, he should have noticed it had been a feint!

His father chuckled as his eleventh and twelfth chain retracted, the other ten resuming their 'ready' position. "Not a bad idea Supaiku, but you have to remember to multitask. If you only focus on one, it's not going to . . ."

Supaiku immediately brightened up as he heard stumbling footsteps. He grinned as he manipulated one chain to open the door to the training room, then using one chain to gently lift up a startled yet delighted Kawaii and help him into the room.

Kawaii's eyes went wide with wonder when he saw Supaiku using ten chains. "Wow, _ten_ at once! You control each one with a single finger?"

Supaiku nodded, smiling as he gently set Kawaii down onto a cushion. Kawaii loved to watch their chain-duels, and he had a pretty good eye for techniques. While normally outsiders weren't allowed to watch, Kawaii was always welcome.

Supaiku's father chuckled before he spoke. "Actually, that's not _entirely_ accurate. You just missed him and I using TWELVE chains."

As Kawaii's eyes opened wide, Supaiku grinned. "True, but we only _control_ ten at a time. In order to move an eleventh one, we have to forfeit our control of one of the other ones."

Kawaii clearly was excited, so Supaiku elaborated. "As you know Kawaii, the chains within our scrolls were sealed in them by us. They don't just magically appear. I have _hundreds_ of chains in here, and can call them out separately or combine them at will."

As he spoke Supaiku had his chains retract then combined them to make one _extremely _long chain. He had it snake around the room a bit before having it retract, then reforming his original ten chains. "If a person only uses one chain, they can use all ten fingers to control it. This makes them able to exhibit much more precise control over that one."

Supaiku's father interrupted, almost getting Supaiku to laugh when his father covered Supaiku's mouth with one of the chains. "A skilled Chain Charmer will determine the number of chains to use that is right for the situation. It's normally a poor idea to use only one if the opponent's close by unless you require that amount for the entire length, although some people really excel at just using one."

Supaiku grinned as his father removed the chain from Supaiku's mouth, and the two of them got ready to spar again.

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><p>In case I haven't mentioned it yet, this is the village of chains. As such, most of the techniques used by the ninjas here involve chains. I personally like the idea of the 'Chain Charmer', it seems versatile. I'll explain Surudoi's capabilities later in, likely in the next chapter.<p>

Update: 1/6/12

Hi again! I'm sorry I've been taking so long in making and uploading the next chapter. This story IS going to be continued, it's just that I actually have some major plot additions and changes that me and a friend have been working on.

Before I continue, I want to thank Tlm7 for all of his help. To call this MY story would no longer be accurate, he and I have worked very hard together to truly create the plot. He also is the one that brought me to this website, and I am very grateful for all the help he has given me. This is **_OUR_** story, and we are working hard on it. However, major plot changes also mean that I have to go back and make certain all of the information is still accurate, and to fix the parts where the information no longer fits. Again, I apologize for the long wait. I will try to make the story worth it, this story _will_ be given life even if it costs me my own!

So, just to review: Tlm7 rocks, I AM working on more chapters, and I think Tlm7 and I have put together a plot so epic that we will _redefine_ awesomeness.

Update: 2/29/12

All the information in the original update still applies. Some plot additions, but the majority of the plot has been figured out. Tlm7 STILL rocks, and he STILL puts up with my merciless harrassment. However, I also have other stories I'm working on. This means that I keep on hopping from one story to another, it's very difficult for me to choose one story and keep on working on it. It's a problem I'm trying to solve, but I'm failing. I _am_ trying to get more written, it's just taking a good deal more concentration than I normally can use.


	5. Tattletale

Hello again, faithful/soon-to-be faithful leaders! I worked hard on getting this chapter done, and I enjoy how it turned out. Hopefully you will too!

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><p>Baransu gnashed his teeth as he saw both the Kusarigama clan leader and the Surujin clan leader walk away from the Academy. How . . . this was <em>ridiculous<em>! Taunting the other clan by humiliating the other leader's child . . . Baransu had to speak to the Rensakage about this. Baransu left the building quickly, hastily heading over to the Rensakage's office. On the way there, he thought about the Kusarigama Clan and the Surujin Clan. To be honest, he didn't even know why they were fighting. When asked, they refused to believe the answer wasn't obvious. If there was ANYTHING . . . ugh!

Baransu eventually sighed. He only had to tolerate those two for the rest of the week. That would be when the graduation exams would be taken. For all of their hatred of each other, Surudoi and Supaiku both were talented. While the only thing in their notebooks were drawings of increasingly creative ways to kill each other, the two of them never failed to get high test scores and they were both great at controlling chakra.

They could create clones easily, their aim was impressive . . . there was no reason they wouldn't be able to pass. If they weren't so deluded with this petty blood-feud, the two of them would make very impressive ninja. The last fight between those two that Baransu would have to get involved with _should_ be the fight over who got the better test score after they graduated. After that, it wouldn't be his problem. With a sigh, Baransu wondered why they couldn't be like Natichi Rindu.

Natichi, now _there_ was a good student. She worked hard, tried hard, never got in a fight . . . Baransu had no doubt Natichi could even become the Rensakage. That was Natichi's dream, but she wasn't cocky about it. Baransu grinned as he thought about her. Natichi was very well liked by the students, the teachers, and the _entire_ village.

Baransu sighed as he reached the Rensakage's building. When he got inside and the Rensakage's room door was in sight, Baransu saw the one person that never failed to anger Baransu stumbling out of the Rensakage's room as if he was drunk. _Kawaii_. Baransu watched as that manipulative little bastard played 'cripple', like he always did, and shuffled out of view. It was so clear to Baransu that Kawaii was faking it, using the 'poor me' status to win over every villager's heart . . . ugh!

"Baransu Manrikigusari?"

Baransu turned back towards the Rensakage's office to see her looking at him. Baransu grinned, at least SHE wasn't fooled by Kawaii's despicable tricks. "Rensakage, Surudoi and Supaiku brought weapons to the Academy."

The change in the Rensakage's expression was so quick Baransu wasn't entirely certain it was POSSIBLE. "_Weapons?_ Have you contacted their parents?"

Baransu nodded. "I held them back after class, and their parents came looking for them. As always, they refused to cooperate."

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth as she looked out on the balcony, towards the Academy. "Damn them. My patience with those two clans is reaching an end. I'm half tempted to banish them BEFORE they get the chance to destroy the village with their petty hatred for each other!"

Baransu nodded as he also looked out the window. The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes before the Rensakage sighed. "I'll speak to them, but I can already tell you that they won't agree."

Baransu sighed. "I apologize for bringing it up, I know it won't change anything."

For a bit, the Rensakage continued staring outside. Then her lips slowly curled up into a smile. "Wrong. It's another strike against them, and it could possibly endanger the students. The two clans have _no_ idea how pissed off I am getting at them. One of these times I am going to snap, and nothing will be able to save them."

Baransu nodded with a grin. "I believe that it's a testament to your incredible patience that you have tolerated them for so long."

The Rensakage's smile turned into a smirk of amusement. "Baransu, you should know that my fuse is so short it takes a microscope to see it. I am NOT patient."

Baransu chuckled as he paced the room. Soon, the Rensakage asked him how the rest of the students were coming along. Baransu grinned as he gave his reply. "The other students are coming along well. I have quite a bit of confidence that they will all pass. Natichi of course is coming along remarkably. I still can't believe a clan as small as the Rindu clan could produce such a gifted child."

The Rensakage grinned as she got up and began to pace the room. "The Rindu clan is small, but I have only heard compliments about their calm and analytical nature. They're very humble that they have been blessed with a daughter as gifted as Natichi. I have no doubt that she will take my place as Rensakage, and I'll willingly give it up for her."

Baransu nodded with a smile, he would expect nothing less from the Rensakage. "Of course my lady."

After the Rensakage grinned for a bit longer, Baransu sighed as he decided once again to convince the Rensakage to undo one of her earlier mistakes. "My lady, I understand the many uses that your adoption of Kawaii has resulted in. However, I have noticed a change in your personality since the five years ago that you have adopted Kawaii."

The Rensakage surprised Baransu when she grinned. "Yes, but I believe you blame my short temper on Kawaii a little bit too much. I have been thinking about him, and the more I do the more I realize that I have been harsh to him."

Baransu shook his head, not her too! "My lady, I already told you! The brain-scans can't be trusted, we know too little about which part of the brain is responsible for what to say that Kawaii's motor skills are truly as shot as they appear to be."

The Rensakage grinned as she pulled out a folder. In the folder were the results of that brain-scan. "Listen, Baransu. We know too little about the accident in question to state that Kawaii's motor skills were fine in the FIRST place. As you know, I found him as an orphan. As I have told you, my short temper is caused by the stress of being the Rensakage. I have pulled this out time and time again, and we just don't know enough about that particular part of a person's brain to state that he _doesn_'t have this motor skills deficiency that we see in him. However, in all the time that I have kept him in my eyesight-MANY times he didn't even know I was there-I have never seen him do ANYTHING that could counter that claim."

Baransu frowned as he angrily paced the side of the room he was on. "It doesn't strike you as odd that he's not angry or even _frustrated_? I have never seen anything but this façade he continues to use. I tell you now that this façade he shows is just that, a façade that he uses to hide his true feelings. There is NO way he can be happy all the time. How can he be content with his life, you may ask? It's simple. I would be content too if I could sucker an entire TOWN into doing everything for me."

The Rensakage grinned widely before she spoke. "It's always the same, you tell me that if I shove him out the door he will be forced to drop his 'façade'. But I ask you now Baransu, what if this _isn't_ a façade? First of all, I can't agree more that he's naïve, but as an average six-year-old that is perfectly normal. He has never shown any anger, and he sees everyone in town as his friends. If he truly was manipulating me, why would his current record for getting completely dressed be forty-three minutes?"

Baransu grinned, that was simple. "He makes up the record, of course. He has worked very hard on this façade of his, and-"

To Baransu's surprise and annoyance, the Rensakage interrupted him. "I can't see a six year old child keep up a façade of this complexity since before he could _talk_."

Baransu sighed. It was the same thing every time, 'How could a child so young manipulate people for so long'. But as much as Baransu hated to admit it he still didn't have an answer to that which would convince anyone.

The two of them were taken out of their conversation when Baransu heard a hand gently brush the door multiple times. He gnashed his teeth, _Kawaii_ was back. He was asking for someone to open the door, but Baransu would be _damned_ before he got suckered into doing that! It was only when the Rensakage walked past Baransu and opened the door that Baransu realized Kawaii now had the Rensakage at his beck and call as well.

Baransu was going to make a harsh comment to Kawaii, but he was startled to see how happy Kawaii looked as he thanked the Rensakage again and again. Now that Baransu thought about it . . . he had never seen Kawaii wearing the shorts he was now. They weren't the denim shorts that he normally wore, this pair was one of those that a person could simply pull up and an elastic waistband would keep them from falling off.

Kawaii's faked joy was . . . it was difficult even for Baransu to put it off as an act. He looked ready to burst into tears of joy, it was only when Baransu learned that the Rensakage had bought Kawaii multiple pairs of those shorts that he realized it was just another part of Kawaii's act. Kawaii could fool anyone, but Baransu had to admit the reason he would seem so joyful to such a strange gift baffled him. Personally he would have been insulted at the sheer simplicity in the shorts. He would have taken it as an insult to his own intelligence.

It didn't take long before Baransu decided to leave. He wouldn't be able to contain himself much longer if this kept up. He never bothered to try to call Kawaii's bluff. It would only give Kawaii another chance to lure Baransu into the 'pity me' crap that Kawaii always pulled. Eventually Baransu sighed as he forced himself to think about something else. Let's see, the exams would be in the next few days . . . Baransu did have to get ready for those.

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><p>Hmm . . . do you ever get the feeling something bad is about to happen? I get that feeling sometimes, like when I think about politics. Anyways, I'm goin back to work on the next part of the story. Hopefully real life won't screw me over by that time (Heh, like THAT one's gonna happen. I hate my life, and the feeling is MUTUAL), so I can work on the next chapter.<p> 


	6. Oh, that's not good

Hello again. Alright, chapter number six is here! If you payed close attention to the last chapter, you caught that the graduation exams were going to happen at the end of the week. There is a mini time-skip here, now Surudoi is waiting to take the exam.

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><p>Stifling a nervous yawn, Surudoi tried to stay completely still in her chair. Today was the day of the exams, today was the day that would decide whether she became a kunoichi or not. As she waited for her name to be called, she twiddled her thumbs and went over everything she knew in her head a hundred times. Surudoi knew she shouldn't be so nervous and that being nervous would only increase the odds that something would go wrong, but she couldn't help it.<p>

She waited for her turn to come, and as the seats filled out she only grew more and more tense. If _anything_ went wrong . . . this could turn out so badly. Fortunately Supaiku had already gone, which since he was clearly was going to fail that would mean that Surudoi wouldn't even have to murder that bastard. Granted, she was going to do it _anyways_ but she always enjoyed seeing Supaiku miserable.

While they were going into the room in a random order, Surudoi was getting nervous. Almost everyone HAD gone already. As a matter of fact . . . Surudoi looked around herself. She didn't see anyone . . . oh wait, over there. Natichi Rindu noticed Surudoi's nervousness, and Surudoi smiled as Natichi gave the smile she was famous for. "Don't worry Surudoi. I'm certain you'll pass. That's one good thing about your fights with Supaiku. You're really experienced at fighting."

Surudoi smiled at Natichi, she was one of those people that everyone just liked. "That's true, if there's anything Supaiku is good for . . ."

Surudoi unconsciously clenched her fists. Natichi looked slightly troubled by her actions, but Surudoi knew it was just part of Natichi's nature. "If it makes you feel any better Natichi, I'll wait until tonight so you don't have to witness it."

Natichi didn't look relieved, but they both looked towards the door as Surudoi's name was called. Surudoi's nervousness came back, but Natichi's warm smile helped to calm her down. After taking a large gulp of air Surudoi walked out of the classroom and into the testing area.

The test itself wasn't too hard. Surudoi was shocked at her own skill when she proved herself capable of hitting nine out of ten targets with wooden kunai (after Baransu's warning that they would be dropped from the program if they brought their weapons to school again, Surudoi had obligingly left her weapons at home), and her illusionary clones were flawless. After the instructors told her that she was very impressive and that she passed, it felt like over fifty tons were removed from Surudoi's back.

Surudoi left that room a happy woman, until she found Supaiku being congratulated by his own clan. Her blood began to boil as she realized what had happened. _They had let him PASS?_ _How stupid WERE the instructors_? As Surudoi tried to comprehend how that happened, many of her own clan members came up to her. Surudoi tried to ignore Supaiku's clan's cheers for Supaiku, and grinned as her father asked her if she had passed. "Was there ever any doubt? What do you think I am, a _Surujin_ clan member?"

Her father and the rest of her clan all grinned as they nodded. It was only when Surudoi heard the word '_**WHAT'**_ bellowed so loud she thought her eardrums would burst that she realized Supaiku and his clan had caught on that she had passed. She turned and saw the furious look on Supaiku's face. "She _passed_? You sneaky little _**BITCH**_, the only way you could have passed is if you used genjutsu on the instructors and made it look like you were actually _competent_ at something!"

Surudoi could only grin. "How many favors did you have to pull, how many people did you have to blackmail, and how many families had to be threatened in order to scare the instructors into letting _you_ pass?"

As Supaiku's look turned dark, Surudoi's mother chuckled. "That's my girl, Surudoi."

Surudoi grinned wider as she flung her hair over her shoulder. Supaiku glared viciously at Surudoi, but then sighed. "Whatever. So you passed, it still doesn't change a thing. On your first mission, you'll just duck and run anyways. I guess it's more fitting to just sit back and watch everything blow up in your face. You were cursed at birth."

Surudoi glared at Supaiku as Supaiku's mouth soon slid into a smirk, she could almost _see_ the despicable evil that resided within Supaiku. "After all, look what clan you were born to. I shouldn't be angry at you, I should _pity _you."

Surudoi grinned as she countered. "You best watch it, you little _Surujin_. Just because you're a heartless bastard doesn't mean a wound to the chest can't kill you."

Supaiku laughed. "Oh, I dare you to try."

Surudoi and Supaiku both charged at the same time. "It's your death wish, you _Surujin_!"

As the two of them met, they both began to use taijutsu against each other. However, both of them were completely shocked when their parents intervened, holding them back. Surudoi's mother spoke quickly to her. "Calm down, you _will_ have your chance, just not now. We can't afford to cause a scene, too many people in too small of a space."

As Surudoi tried to calm down, Supaiku's dad chuckled. "Isn't it just like a Kusarigama clan member to talk big then run at the first excuse they get?"

As Surudoi's mother stiffened, Surudoi slipped out from under her grasp, and got into a fighting stance. "I see that Supaiku gets his stupidity from you, you old _geezer_."

What happened next took a bit to register for Surudoi. She saw Supaiku's father's eyes narrow, she saw him let go of Supaiku, but his hand flew so fast Surudoi had no time to react. She heard the slap as Supaiku's father's hand hit her on the side of the head, she felt the sting of the slap, and she _certainly_ felt the force as it caused her to lose her balance. She heard her mom swear at Supaiku's father long before Surudoi hit the ground, and almost before Surudoi knew it . . . it was all so _fast . . ._ first Supaiku's mother joined the fight, then suddenly both sides were fighting, both surujin and kusarigama coming out of nowhere. As both sides continued to brawl, Surudoi and Supaiku both met and furiously brawled each other.

She had no idea how long that fight lasted, but by the time everyone suddenly heard the sound of cracking wood Surudoi was stiff all over, exhausted, and bleeding. As one, both sides looked up at the ceiling as the building began to sway. Surudoi didn't know how it had happened, had too many walls been damaged for the building to sustain the hit? All Surudoi knew was that it turned chaotic as the Academy began to collapse, both sides trying to get out of harm's way as it came down.

When Surudoi got out of that room, she dared to turn around. Natichi Rindu and the instructors had entered the room, only noticing the danger they had put themselves in when the ceiling above them began to fall. The instructors got out of the room fast enough, but Surudoi, Supaiku, and every other clan member watched in horror as Natichi's leg got caught in a surujin's chain. She fell over, but managed to roll out of the way of some falling debris.

As Surudoi looked up at the ceiling she realized a kusarigama had gotten embedded into the ceiling. Natichi didn't see the kusarigama as she quickly sat up and reached for the leg that was still caught in the surujin's chain. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the kusarigama's sickle-part was freed from the ceiling's debris. The weighted part of the kusarigama was still embedded into the ceiling, and the chain still held, causing the sickle to swing down towards Natichi. Surudoi couldn't believe it as the sickle impaled the back of Natichi's head, no one could live through that wound.

It was only when a large piece of debris fell on Surudoi's left shoulder that she remembered the danger she herself was in. As the academy crumbled around them, Surudoi put her arms up to shield her head. It seemed to last forever, the dull roar the building made as it fell apart, the screams of fear and pain as those trapped inside were hit by the debris. Surudoi soon lost all track of time. When the chaos finally quieted down, Surudoi looked herself over. She sighed in relief as she realized her injuries were minor.

"Great. J-just _**great!**_"

Surudoi glared over at Supaiku, who had somehow managed to get as few injuries as Surudoi. "Are you . . . are you happy now? Just . . . just look at what you've _**DONE!**_"

Surudoi glared viciously at Supaiku. "You are _not_ pinning this on me! This is entirely _your_ fault Supaiku!"

Supaiku glared at Surudoi, and his voice was saturated with the evil that Surudoi knew resided in Supaiku's soul. "If you hadn't tricked the instructors into letting you pass, then this fight wouldn't have happened! It's _your_ fault and _you_ are going to walk with Natichi to the land of the dead, hand in hand!"

"_Kami Chien Shiu no Jutsu!_"

Surudoi flinched as a strange translucent blue chain wrapped around her, immobilizing her. As she looked up Surudoi was shocked to see that Supaiku had the same issue. As one, both of them turned to face the one that had bound them. Surudoi gulped as she saw the chains attached to the Rensakage's hands, also seeing the pure _rage_ in the Rensakage's face. Surudoi flinched as the chains suddenly vanished, but . . . something was different.

Before Surudoi or Supaiku could move, the Rensakage formed a large number of hand-signs. "Anbureikaburuchēngurippu!"

As two normal chains came out of the Rensakage's hands, Surudoi quickly found herself and Supaiku bound yet again. The Rensakage said nothing as she turned around, forcing the two of them to follow her by her control of the chains.

Then again . . . there was something _different_ about these chains. As the Rensakage brought the two of them to her building, Surudoi also noticed that she felt . . . she didn't know how to explain it. What had the Rensakage done with her original technique? What had she called it . . . the Divine Chain Sealing Technique? She knew she had heard of that somewhere, but what did it do? "I understand that you're pissed off at us my lady, but can you tell us where we're going?"

Surudoi snapped back to the present as the Rensakage glared back at them. "I am _beyond_ the point of 'pissed off', Supaiku Surujin. This _will_ be punished, and I need to keep you two away from society as I come up with the best way to _make_ the two of _you_ regret this!"

After the Rensakage kicked her office door open and dragged the two of them into the room, Surudoi saw the chains separate from the Rensakage's hands. But before either Supaiku or Surudoi could do anything about it, the Rensakage formed a few more hand signs. "Chien no shanderia!"

Surudoi let out a yelp of shock as the end of the chain that the Rensakage had previously been holding hoisted her up into the air. As that end embedded itself into the ceiling, Surudoi soon found herself hanging upside-down from the ceiling. As she heard Supaiku curse, she found him in a similar position. As they looked at the floor in shock, Surudoi cringed as she heard the door slam shut. This was bad. She was in a _lot_ of trouble!

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><p>When two equal forces refuse to stop fighting, the only thing that is going to give is the battlefield.<p>

Ok, so a few things. Anbureikaburuchiengurippu means 'Unbreakable Chain Grip', while Chien no shanderia is 'Chain Chandelier'. I just felt like using Japanese names for techniques for once, it probably won't be done again. Next chapter shouldn't take too long to appear.


	7. The Rensakage's Wrath

Seventh chapter, up and ready!

The deed has been done. Now it's time for the consequences.

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><p>The Rensakage watched with tears in her eyes as Natichi's parents mourned their loss. Standing in the place the Academy once stood, Natichi's mother was sobbing over Natichi's corpse as her father tried to fight his own tears. The Rensakage was silently praying that there was a way to bring her back, but she knew it was a lost cause. There wasn't a single technique she knew that could bring back the dead, at least besides for the 'Summoning: Impure World Resurrection'.<p>

She gnashed her teeth as she heard the Kusarigama clan leader arguing with the Surujin one. Did they even _care?_ That was _it!_ The Rensakage whipped herself around to face them and pointed her palms at them. "_Kami Chien Shiu no Jutsu!_"

Before the two of them could turn around and face her, the Rensakage's sealing chains hit them. Both of them paled as they looked over at the Rensakage, who waited until the technique was complete before she walked up to them. "You two, my office, _**NOW!**_"

As the two of them gulped, the Rensakage turned around and walked up to Natichi's parents. "Listen. I know you two are in mourning, but once you feel strong enough, I want you to come to my office as well."

She was surprised when Natichi's mother, through what was clearly tremendous effort, got a hold of herself. "I . . . I'll cry later. You . . . you're right. This . . . i-it's so . . . so _sudden_."

The Rensakage nodded, she herself was still having difficulty accepting this reality. "I should have solved this feud sooner. This . . . this shouldn't have happened. But it's too late now. The only thing I can do is make certain that both those accursed clans will live to regret this."

Soon, the three of them made their way to the Rensakage's office. It didn't take long for them to get there, but the Rensakage was VERY impatient at the moment. When she opened her office door, she found both clan leaders there, looking up at their bound children in shock and anger. As the two clan leaders turned to see the Rensakage and Natichi's parents enter the room, the Rensakage viciously glared at them. "Say it. Say that I have no right to do that. I _**DARE**_ you."

Both of them flinched as the Rensakage went over to her side of the desk, insisting that Natichi's parents sit on chairs the Rensakage put over on that side. She wanted to make certain they didn't feel like the Rensakage was angry at them, she was pissed off at the two _**morons **_over on the other side of the table. She had a hard time keeping her voice steady as she began to speak. "Now I do not consider myself a very patient person. A much better way to define my personality is that I have a _very_ itchy trigger finger. I admit that. _**HOWEVER**_, I always tried to keep my temper with the two of you, with your CLANS. But _this_ is the final straw. Thanks to your actions, a graduate died. Natichi is now dead, thanks to your clans' _ridiculous_ feud!"

The two clan leaders tried to speak, but the Rensakage slammed her fists on the table. "_**NO!**_ I have given you both time after time to explain yourselves. I have asked you both so many times to end this feud. Each and every time, it would only take another 24 hours and you were at it again. I see now that I was _far _too lenient."

They tried to interrupt, but a glare from the Rensakage made them both stay quiet as she continued. "I know that I could sit here for hours and play peace-maker, but you two can't. It's clear to me now that this feud is far too dangerous to allow it to go on for another day. So let's cut to the only part you will actually listen to, the consequences."

The Rensakage glared even more viciously at them. "First up, the monetary consequence. Both clans WILL work together to pay ALL of it. Now I know the Rindu clan has the money to pay for Natichi's funeral, but I will not accept them paying it. Instead, the two of you will work up every last cent for Natichi's funeral."

The Kusarigama clan leader gave a 'very well', but the Rensakage shook her head. She was _far_ from done. "Speaking of that funeral, I expect every member from your respective clans to attend that funeral. Any member NOT found there will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law."

Eventually, the Surujin clan leader gulped. "Very w-"

The Rensakage shook her head. "You don't get it, do you? I am not done. I will TELL you when I am done. It is my job to deal with threats to the village, and today BOTH of your clans have clearly proven that you are threats. From now on, if a single Kusarigama clan member dies as the result of a single Surujin clan member's actions, or if a single Surujin clan member dies as the result of a Surujin clan member's actions, the perpetrator's clan will be _**banished.**_"

Both clan leaders paled, and even Natichi's parents flinched. The Rensakage grinned cruelly. "By the way, I expect both clans to repair the damage done to the Academy _by hand_, and I want that finished as quickly as possible. Failure to do so will result in BOTH clans getting banished."

The clan leaders cringed as the Rensakage's grin turned into a smirk. She looked up at Surudoi and Supaiku's forms, still dangling from the ceiling. "Don't think you two are getting out of this. Now I don't expect the two of you to apologize. That would be stupid. It's much more difficult to find a punishment for you two, simply for the fact that the two of you are happy so long as the other one is punished as well. From my understanding, you two INSTIGATED this entire fight. The same terms that now apply to the rest of your clan also apply to you, including the two of you helping to repair the Academy. Now of course, the graduates are expected to gain squads, leaders, and undergo their first mission in that time, but I believe the two of you have shown you cannot be trusted to work with a squad."

Surudoi and Supaiku paled as the Rensakage grinned. "You two wanted the other one to not graduate? Well guess what, you won. BOTH of you are no longer part of the program. You will be dropped for your actions. And it doesn't end there."

The Rensakage chuckled before she continued. "Have the two of you noticed something . . . _different_ about yourselves?"

Surudoi nodded. "Yeah, it . . . I don't know what, but there's SOMETHING."

The Rensakage grinned. "_Kami Chien Shiu no Jutsu_, a jutsu only I can use. It seals the opponent's chakra until I undo it. You two will never again be able to use your chakra, a precaution I believe is necessary."

The two of them paled, and Surudoi glared at her. "No! You lying _bitch_, that's not even . . . you can't _do_ that to me!"

The Rensakage chuckled again as Surudoi concentrated. "Try all you want, your chakra has been sealed."

"My lady, please reconsider!"

The Rensakage turned to see both Surudoi's mother and Supaiku's father in tears. "All of Surudoi's life, I've trained her in the ways of our clan! A-and she's INCREDIBLE at it! You're taking something from her that she's worked on for _years!_"

Supaiku's father nodded. "Supaiku specializes in the Chain Charmer style, he _needs_ his chakra to use it! I've trained him all of his life to be a ninja! You're dropping him from the program because of something that wasn't his fault!"

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth. "_**A NINJA?**_ You haven't trained him to be a ninja, _both of you_ have done so much psychological damage to the two of them that if I was in either of you two's place, I would be _ashamed_ to admit I was the one that poisoned their mind!"

"_**PLEASE!**_"

Wait. Was that . . . the Rensakage turned, and was completely shocked at the sight in front of her. Supaiku was crying. "P-please! I'll do anything! Just don't drop me from the program!"

As tears flowed from both of Supaiku's eyes _and_ Surudoi's eyes, the Rensakage sighed. "Hmm . . . Well, perhaps I'm being a little harsh."

As both of their eyes lit up, the Rensakage pretended to think about this. She had expected them to complain. What she hadn't expected for them to do was to beg. In the end, it didn't matter. The Rensakage had planned it all, she knew the offers that she was going to give to the two of them. "Alright, I'll give the two of you some options. Option one, I drop you from the program, but I undo the seal."

Supaiku and Surudoi shook their heads. "I want to be a ninja!"

The Rensakage held up a hand and they both went silent. "Option two, I allow you two to be in the program. Seeing as you've already graduated, that means that I will have you put in a squad immediately. HOWEVER, your chakra would stay sealed."

As the two of them cringed, the Rensakage grinned. This should be easy enough. "Option three, I allow you both to be in the program AND I unseal your chakra. HOWEVER, option three has a . . . a catch, if you will."

Both Supaiku and Surudoi shouted option three at the same time, and the Rensakage grinned. "Very well. Since the Academy is unusable at the moment, the graduates shall instead go into the clearing next to the Academy to learn what their groups are. You two are expected there tomorrow, and won't be expected to repair the Academy like the other members of your clans."

The Rensakage snapped her fingers. Both Supaiku and Surudoi flinched as the chains around them gently lowered them then flipped them around so they landed on their feet. The Rensakage focused, and soon the seals on Supaiku, Surudoi, and their parents' chakra broke and vanished. As the Rensakage began to sit down at her desk, Surudoi's mother asked what the catch was. The Rensakage grinned cruelly. "You'll find out soon enough."

Once the four of them finally left, Surudoi and Supaiku's parents clearly concerned about the catch, Natichi's mother spoke up. "I . . . I'm really honored that . . . that you were so strict on them, but . . . I know I'm being petty, but this . . ."

The Rensakage grinned back at them "Oh, you don't have _any_ idea. I expected them to take option three, and they did. I expected them to do _something_ to try to make me allow them to be ninjas. I just didn't expect them to . . . to actually _beg_ me. I'm going to _get_ both sides to understand the ramifications, and I'm going to use those two to get it to work."

Natichi's parents cocked their head, so the Rensakage grinned and revealed her plan. By the time she was done, both Natichi's parents wore cruel grins of their own. The Rensakage chuckled as she looked outside, watching as both clans started working on repairing the Academy. "There are three different outcomes to this 'catch'. But whichever one we get, I'm certain we won't have to worry about this petty feud. It's time to reveal to both clans just how obsessive this feud of theirs is."

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><p>My GOODNESS! Whatever could the Rensakage have in mind? It's almost like I am deliberately teasing you about it, but that <em>can't<em> be true. I'd have to be some kind of jerk to do _that_!

Oh, fine. I'll tell you. The catch is


	8. The First Catch

Two chapters in one day. I can't believe it. I am so AWESOME! I-uh, I mean . . . a worthy challenge, but it's nothing for me. I couldn't get myself to just leave it at a cut-off sentence like that for long.

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><p>Baransu sighed as he looked over the students before him. After what had happened yesterday, it was a miracle there were so few injuries. Not that there weren't cuts and bruises, each graduate had quite a few bandages on them. Still, it could have been so much worse. Even the academy was quickly being repaired. Turned out that when forced to work together, both clans were pretty damn quick.<p>

As Baransu sighed, each student turned as Surudoi and Supaiku walked up to the clearing. They both looked rather embarrassed as twenty-four pairs of eyes glared at them. Baransu was surprised, this embarrassed side of Surudoi and Supaiku was a side of them that Baransu had rarely seen before. It was only when Baransu cleared his throat that all eyes turned to him. As he spoke to the graduates Baransu noticed quite a few of them glance back at Surudoi and Supaiku every now and then.

The first and only true order of business was to get the squads figured out. Baransu explained that in order to make certain they got their squads right, he wanted the members of each specific squad to stand in certain places. He sighed as Supaiku and Surudoi glared at each other, but did his best to ignore their shenanigans. As Baransu went through each squad member's name for the fifth squad, he noticed that both Supaiku and Surudoi were beginning to look confused. Baransu simply continued, getting the sixth squad's members said.

There were eight members left, the anomaly caused by Natichi's death. As squad seven was noted, both Supaiku and Surudoi suddenly looked at each other, their eyes going wide. Baransu could only grin as he listed off the names for the members of squad eight, leaving only Supaiku and Surudoi, both of them stuttering in shock and rage. Baransu laughed as the two of them insisted that there must be some mistake. Baransu pretended to reread the list, innocently faking that he was double-checking.

"Hmm . . . oh, there's a note here. Who is it from . . . oh, the Rensakage. And it's for you two. Now I know you two will tear it apart if I give it to one of you, so I'll just read it out loud. 'Next time someone says there's a catch you should ASK what the catch is instead of blindly following through. _Yes_, you two make up squad nine. I would like to inform you that the only reason I put the two of you together is because it's very clear to me that you two work well together. After all, Natichi never saw it coming.'"

Once he was done, both Surudoi and Supaiku were still stuttering in shock and anger. Without another coherent word the two of them ran for the academy, clearly going to speak with their parents. Baransu chuckled again when he turned to see the other students all staring bug-eyed at the two figures dashing for the safety of their clans. "Alright, seeing the current rate of the repairs it appears that the academy will be usable by tomorrow. If it is then you all will meet your team leaders there."

As the students looked at each other Baransu left, grinning from ear to ear. He knew where to go next. As he entered the Rensakage's building, he grinned. Baransu couldn't _wait_ for this next part. The Rensakage was _brilliant_! As he entered the room, he grinned when he found exactly what he expected to find. The Rensakage was sitting in her chair, looking almost amused as both the Kusarigama and the Surujin clan leaders complained about her choice. "This is _ridiculous_, my lady! You tricked my daughter into agreeing to go on a team with a _Surujin_ clan member!"

The Rensakage nodded, a large grin appearing on her face as both Surudoi and Supaiku glared viciously at each other. She then grinned when she saw Baransu. "I was getting worried you wouldn't get here in time."

Baransu grinned as he sat down in a chair. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

The Rensakage chuckled before she returned her attention to the clans' children. "Now what are you going to do? You can't get away from the promise you made me. Killing your partner will end in your own clan being banished. Are you truly willing to bear that dishonor?"

Baransu watched, almost as eager as a little child. Both clan leaders said 'no', and turned to leave. But Baransu watched as their children didn't move. The two of them looked at each other with sadistic hatred for in their eyes and as one they drew their weapons. Baransu grinned as both children spoke at the same time, saying the same words. "I will _not_ work with this _thing_! I don't care whether my clan gets banished, so long as _their_ clan is short one member then it's _worth it!_"

Both clan leaders turned around in shock as their children charged at each other. In no time at all Supaiku and Surudoi were in a _vicious_ battle, laying waste to the room as they clashed again and again. As both clan leaders tried to stop their child, they both got their first taste of the monsters they had created. Nothing was going to stop the two of them, not even their parents. Baransu grinned as the combatants left the room, still trading blows with each other as they left a trail of destruction in their wake. Baransu grinned as he and the Rensakage got up, watching as the clan leaders both tried again and again to talk their children out of the fight.

As they both knew would happen, Surudoi and Supaiku simply continued to battle. The Rensakage and Baransu both grinned as the clan leaders turned to face them, a plea for help in their eyes. The Rensakage burst out laughing before she pointed at their children. "_Help?_ Why exactly should I attempt to clean up your mess? After all, they're doing just what you've trained them to do."

The clan leaders both shook their head as Baransu chuckled. "You didn't raise them to be ninja, you didn't raise them to think of killing the other side as a bad thing. You raised them to kill the other clan, no matter the cost. Of course they won't stop, the only question I have is which one will kill the other? Which clan will be banished? Or will this end in a draw, and _both_ clans are banished? They won't regret a single thing, they will _brag_ about how they finally killed the other."

Both clan leaders cringed as they watched their children fight. Baransu grinned as he watched them receive their reward for all their years of foolishness. The Rensakage got Baransu by surprise when she frowned at him. "A little bloodthirsty today, Baransu? I thought I told you the three different outcomes were either one clan gets banished, both clans get banished, or else those two actually DO stop fighting. Not that I'm going to try to stop them, I'm sick of cleaning up after these two."

Baransu grinned, what the hell could get these two to stop fighting?

"Morning!"

Baransu's grin was wiped _right_ off of his face when he saw Kawaii appear at the top of a staircase. It was only after Baransu glared at him for a bit that he realized . . . it was strangely quiet all of the sudden. When Baransu looked back at Supaiku and Surudoi, his mouth fell open in shock. Both of them had stopped fighting, and were looking up at Kawaii. Then . . . it was so _strange_. Both of them waved at Kawaii with smiles on their faces. "Morning Kawaii!"

As Kawaii smiled back at them, he began to shuffle towards the stairs. When Baransu looked back at Supaiku, he almost grinned as he saw Supaiku grabbing out his scroll. As he tossed it on the ground, he quickly made the correct hand signs. "Ninja art: Chain Charmer!"

As Surudoi turned around in shock, one chain erupted from the scroll. As Surudoi braced, Supaiku gave a grin. To Baransu's shock, the chain went past Surudoi and darted up the stairs to Kawaii. As it gently snuck around Kawaii's stomach, Kawaii's eyes lit up with glee. Supaiku gently carried Kawaii down the stairs with the chain and Surudoi seemed surprised. "You can _do_ that?"

Supaiku grinned as a second chain erupted from the scroll, swiftly lifting Surudoi up into the air. She seemed rather surprised as Supaiku set her back down. "You'd be surprised how little of a grip these can use to hold on, certainly a lot better than that one genjutsu trick you can use."

Surudoi cocked her head as she looked at Supaiku. "You think that's my only jutsu? I'm not stupid enough to believe genjutsu is going to solve all of my problems."

Surudoi grabbed out her kusarigama and concentrated. "Ninja art: Fanged Chain!"

As Supaiku flinched, Baransu saw the kusarigama's sickle-side shoot over to Supaiku's position. It stopped halfway and then retreated as Surudoi grinned. "Of course, you're still holding Kawaii up at the moment. I'm not about to let Kawaii get hurt so I can get a cheap shot at you."

Baransu wasn't certain, but he could have _sworn_ he saw the Rensakage flinch. When Supaiku set Kawaii down the Rensakage spoke. "Alright, it's nice to see you two aren't as disillusioned as I thought. You may actually be able to pull this off. Tomorrow, you will do bell training with Baransu."

Baransu flinched. "_What?_"

The Rensakage grinned. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You two, be at the training grounds for 6 am. Don't eat anything for breakfast, or you'll be puking it up during the training."

Supaiku frowned as he looked at the Rensakage. "Wait, we only have two squad members. I thought we had to have . . ."

Supaiku trailed off as his face, as well as Surudoi's, flushed red. "Oh. I uh . . . I forgot about . . ."

The Rensakage grinned. "I want you two to remember that Natichi would still be alive if you two hadn't started that fight. As for having only two members, I'm going to see about finding a third member. If I find one for you in time, I will have them meet you at the bell training."

The two of them looked at each other, but soon left with their respective parents. As Baransu watched them leave, the Rensakage chuckled. "What do you know? We may be able to make a happy ending."

* * *

><p>Ok, I doubt there's even a question to who it is. Still, just pretend you're surprised when you learn that there's an incredible twist in the next chapter. The ninth chapter, the Second Catch, should be here soon<p> 


	9. The Second Catch

Hi! I've got another chapter ready for you. I would like to note right now that this is THE longest chapter that I have made YET. Feedback is appreciated.

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><p>Supaiku woke up immediately when his alarm went off. Alright, it was 3 a.m. That should be MORE than enough time to set up traps for when Surudoi got there. Quickly getting all of his ninja tools packed, Supaiku was soon ready to leave. With a cruel grin on his face, he walked for the door. When he opened it, he flinched as he found himself face-to-face with his father. "Supaiku"<p>

His father looked troubled. He and the rest of the clan had been acting strange after the Rensakage made that new law that would result in them getting banished if Supaiku, or any of them for that matter, killed a member of the kusarigama clan. Supaiku frowned as his father looked him in the eye. His expression was unreadable, so many different emotions were present that Supaiku was in no way certain he knew what was about to happen. Eventually, his father cleared his throat. "Supaiku . . . you can't kill her."

Supaiku grinned. "Don't underestimate me father. I am certain I can best her."

To Supaiku's shock, his father shook his head. Supaiku couldn't believe it when he saw the tear streaks going down his father's face. "Supaiku, you don't understand. It's not worth getting banished just to kill one from their clan."

Supaiku gnashed his teeth. "Of course it is. Now which one is blackmailing you into trying to get me to stop, and what the _hell_ did they blackmail you with that is capable of making _you_ of all people try to stop me?"

Supaiku's father sighed as he leaned against the railing of the porch for support. "I've been up all night, looking back at your actions both during and before yesterday's . . . meeting with the Rensakage. I . . . I don't know how to say this Supaiku, but . . . I'm sorry."

Supaiku flinched as his father nodded. "Yes, that's it. I'm so sorry. The Rensakage was right. All I've ever done is turn you into a weapon against the kusarigama clan. Even now, when the stakes are so high, you still put their destruction above everything else. You see them as the most diabolical thing in the world, and you are determined to eradicate them."

Supaiku cocked his head. "Of course I do. That's . . . that's all they are. You told me that yourself, you _must_ believe it!"

Supaiku couldn't understand his father's reaction. His father tensed up, his breath catching in his throat. "That . . . there's more to them than just that, son. You two are the first ones born to our clans since this feud began. We . . . we never realized that we were . . . look son, i-it's best that we aren't banished. Do . . . do you understand?"

Supaiku frowned as he thought about his father's words. It was best that they don't be banished. So . . . a stealthy kill that can't be traced back to Supaiku . . . yeah, he could certainly try that. Supaiku grinned and nodded at his father, who sighed in relief. "Alright, make me proud son."

Supaiku nodded as he left his house, leaving his father behind him. Soon Supaiku was walking with all haste to the training grounds. He grinned as he thought about how to do this . . . how could he have her killed without it being able to be traced back to him? Oh, of _course!_ Supaiku grabbed out his gloves and quickly put them on. If they couldn't get his fingerprints then they couldn't trace it back to him, _yes!_

But he still had to use something that no one would expect him to. If he used Chain Charmer or his surujin, he may as well go up to the Rensakage and tell her that he did it himself. Hmm . . . well, they didn't know that he was a good aim with a kunai . . . but then again, that wouldn't be a certain kill. He could hit his mark maybe seven out of ten shots. It was hard for him to adjust to a kunai when he was so used to using a surujin.

When Supaiku got to the training ground, he was completely startled when he saw Surudoi walking into the training grounds from the other direction. She glared at Supaiku as she got out her kusarigama, and Supaiku grinned as he got out his surujin. The two of them continued to glare at each other as they spoke, keeping their voices down. "Why, you're here early, _Surudoi_."

Surudoi chuckled as she started twirling the weighted chain on her kusarigama. "Why are _you_ here, Supaiku? Intending to set traps, no doubt?"

Supaiku grinned. "My orders are to kill you without leaving behind any evidence that it was my doing."

Surudoi flinched before she spoke. "You too? My parents have been . . . acting weird."

Supaiku frowned, her clan was doing that shit too? "Weird as in . . . just, completely _different_? Most of the jokes and promises I used yesterday ended with me being glared at or the person almost crying."

Surudoi frowned as she lowered her weapons. "Yeah, that's . . . that's a good way to put it. Everything that once made my parents so proud now sends them into tears, I . . . I don't understand what's going on with them."

For just a moment, Supaiku wondered . . . what was going on? What strange occurrence was causing his clan to act like this? Eventually, he shook his head and got ready to strike as Surudoi did the same. Surudoi soon gave a cruel grin. "I do know this though. You are to blame, because _you_ are one of the _Surujin!_"

Supaiku grinned as he got ready to strike, but they both flinched when they heard a snore. Both of them looked in the direction the snore came from, and they . . . Supaiku looked at Surudoi in shock. "Is that . . ."

Surudoi nodded, and soon the two of them were walking over to the sleeper. It was Kawaii. Seven-year-old Kawaii was sleeping on the ground, how they hadn't noticed him sooner was a question Supaiku wouldn't be able to answer. He was sleeping fully dressed, wearing a cute green shirt and a pair of dark blue pull-up pants. It was kind of funny the way his purple hair was a mess, but . . . well, it certainly wasn't caused by him tossing and turning. Overall, he was sleeping on his back. As Supaiku and Surudoi watched, his body attempted to make Kawaii turn onto his side, but all that happened was Kawaii unconsciously moved his right arm.

The pitiful act almost broke Supaiku's heart. Even when he was asleep, poor Kawaii's condition still hindered his coordination. But the big question was . . . what was he _doing_ out here? Eventually, Supaiku turned to face Surudoi. "I thought he slept in a room in the Rensakage's building."

Surudoi nodded. "Yeah, I thought so too. I . . . she actually makes him sleep out here? Wow, the Rensakage's a _bitch._"

Supaiku nodded, but soon sighed. He couldn't kill Surudoi with Kawaii present, it just . . . it was _wrong_. Eventually Supaiku shrugged. "Well, I . . . I guess we should just wake him up and see if he can explain it."

Surudoi nodded, and soon she gently reached down and shook Kawaii's shoulder. Supaiku couldn't help but grin as Kawaii's eyes sleepily fluttered open, lazily looking around. When Kawaii saw Supaiku and Surudoi, his eyes sparkled in glee. After watching Kawaii attempt to get up once (and fail to do so), both Supaiku and Surudoi helped to get Kawaii to his feet. As always, sweet little Kawaii thanked both of them gratefully. Once he stopped, Supaiku smiled kindly at him. "Hi there, Kawaii"

Kawaii smiled at Surudoi and Supaiku, saying hi back to them. Supaiku smiled at him as Surudoi asked what Kawaii was doing here. For a moment, Supaiku thought grudgingly that Surudoi was far too much to the point, like _all_ that were part of the kusarigama clan were. But when Kawaii spoke, Supaiku immediately began paying attention. "Well, you know how my condition makes it impossible for me to get anywhere too fast? I decided the only way I'd get here on time would be to sleep here."

Surudoi and Supaiku grinned at each other. Yeah, that was Kawaii alright. He completely missed the point of the question. As such, Supaiku cleared his throat. "Alright, and you wanted to be here to watch us during the training?"

Huh, that made sense actually. Kawaii certainly was the type of person to want to watch something exciting. However, Kawaii flinched and blushed as he weakly lifted up one arm, his hand as normal remaining limp. "Oh! Sorry, I completely . . . well, you know how the Rensakage said that she was going to find you a third squad member?"

Oh. Okay, so . . . well, it was _strange,_ but . . . Supaiku shrugged. "Ah, so you are here to tell us who our third squad member is?"

Kawaii giggled. "No, no. I mean . . . do you remember how she said that if she found you a third squad member, she'd send them here?"

Supaiku frowned as he looked around. Besides for Kawaii, Surudoi, and Supaiku, there was no one here. "I remember that, but . . . ah! See Kawaii, we're really early for the training. So it makes sense that the other person wouldn't be here yet."

Surudoi nodded. "Yeah. We wanted to lay some traps to k . . . uh, you know, like pranks. Like a bucket of water or . . . or something."

As both Surudoi and Supaiku blushed, Supaiku thought about it. If he _had_ set a trap, and this third member had gotten here before Surudoi . . . he would have gotten the third person hurt. Not only that, after how Natichi . . . died, the Rensakage would likely have sent someone that both Supaiku and Surudoi were friends with. But then again . . . who _was _there that could like a despicable demon like Surudoi? Kawaii giggled again as his eyes sparkled. "Oh, I get it! You two are _super_ sneaky ninjas! That's so _cool_!"

Surudoi and Supaiku both chuckled. It was so easy to get a compliment from Kawaii. Still . . . "Okay Kawaii, so do you know who the third member of Surudoi and I's group will be?"

Kawaii nodded. "Yeah!"

Supaiku grinned as he waited, but Kawaii didn't elaborate. Surudoi chuckled as she looked at Supaiku. "He doesn't pick up on subtext, Supaiku."

With a slight chuckle Surudoi got down to eye level with Kawaii. "Ok Kawaii, who is our third group member?"

Kawaii giggled again, his entire body moving as he continued to giggle. Once he got done, he smiled at both Surudoi and Supaiku. "You two are _funny!_ Baransu is our squad's _leader_, not our third group member!"

Supaiku shook his head. "We know of him, Surudoi and I want to know . . . wait. _Our_ squad's leader?"

Kawaii smiled as he nodded. "Yeah! It's really cool that he's our squad leader. It's going to be all three of us going on missions under Baransu Manrikigusari's lead!"

Supaiku felt like he had just been slugged in the stomach. _**Kawaii**__ was their third team member? _"What-"

To Supaiku's surprise Surudoi suddenly covered his mouth. She gave him the 'shut the fuck up' signal before speaking sweetly to Kawaii. "I'm sorry Kawaii. Can you excuse us for a few minutes?"

Kawaii smiled sweetly. "Of course. No trouble at all."

Against Supaiku's wishes, Surudoi dragged Supaiku a little distance away from Kawaii. Once they were out of earshot, Surudoi removed her hand from Supaiku's mouth. Supaiku . . . "I don't believe it. _He's_ our third squad member? What the _hell_ is wrong with the Rensakage? I-I . . . we're both 13 . . . right?"

Surudoi nodded, and Supaiku continued. "He's _seven_, has a severe limitation to his motor skills . . . h-he barely comes up to our _waists!_ Not only that, he's so naïve that . . . I-I can't _believe_ she . . ."

Surudoi nodded. "What game is she playing at? This isn't hide-and-go-seek, this is . . . we need to get him to realize he's in danger. We have to get him to quit, this is _suicide _for him!"

Supaiku nodded. No matter what, he couldn't let Kawaii get himself hurt! After the two of them nodded to each other, they walked back over to where Kawaii was. Supaiku cleared his throat, how was he going to say this. "Hey, um . . . Kawaii. I uh . . . are . . . are you _certain_ you want to become a ninja?"

Kawaii got Supaiku by surprise when he nodded eagerly. "Yeah, it'll be really cool! We will be all _bam bam_ and we'll go around and complete missions together! This'll be _awesome!_"

Supaiku sighed, but thankfully Surudoi spoke. "Look, Kawaii. I just . . . I don't mean to be . . . well, _mean_, but . . . I don't think you _can_ become a ninja."

Kawaii smiled at her. "Yeah I can. The Rensakage asked if I wanted to be on your squad and I said 'yes' so she said 'Even if your life could be in danger?' So I answered 'but they wouldn't kill me.' And she-"

Supaiku sighed. He wanted to hurry this up a little. "I'm sorry Kawaii, but . . . well . . . you can't fight. And no offense Kawaii, but I can't _see_ you killing someone."

Kawaii got Supaiku and Surudoi by surprise when he . . . well, it was clear he was expecting that question. "There's more to being a ninja than killing enemies. I can still help, it'll be fun!"

As Surudoi paced the ground nervously, Supaiku sighed. There was no way that they were going to get Kawaii to disagree without saying that they wouldn't accept him on the team, and . . . well, that would break his little heart. After a bit of thought, Supaiku sighed again. So this was the Rensakage's second catch, huh. "Alright, Kawaii. But . . . well, if we're going to be on a squad then we need to know what you specialize in."

Kawaii frowned as he cocked his head. "Specialize?"

Supaiku grinned. "Well . . . here. You said you can still help even though you can't fight. Can you tell us how you can help?"

Kawaii's eyes sparkled as he looked around. "Yeah, but . . . well, I kind of want to play hide and go seek. I-I can't do the hiding well, but I do the seeking really good. Can we?"

Supaiku flinched at the sudden change in topic. After he looked up at the sky, he decided they had some time. "Alright, one game and then you tell us your strengths, ok?"

Kawaii nodded eagerly, and after Supaiku told Kawaii to count to 100 after closing his eyes, he motioned at Surudoi that he wanted to speak to her in the forest. As Kawaii eagerly counted, Supaiku and Surudoi slipped into the forest and got behind a log, lying low so Kawaii couldn't see them. Once hidden, Surudoi whispered to Supaiku. "_How the hell are we going to get him to leave without hurting his feelings?_"

Supaiku tried hard to find a way, but as Kawaii reached 90 Supaiku had to concede defeat. "I think that we _have_ to hurt his feelings, it's not as bad since we're doing it to keep him safe . . . right?"

As Surudoi looked the other way, they both listened as Kawaii finished up counting. "95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100! Ready or not, here I come!"

Both Supaiku and Surudoi flinched when not more than ten seconds later they heard Kawaii's voice a little closer. "You both are hiding behind that log that has two branches sticking out of the top of it!"

Supaiku and Surudoi both looked up at the top of the log, and Supaiku's eyes opened wide as he counted two branches on top of the log. How . . . "Kawaii, did you peek?"

Even though Kawaii insisted he didn't, both Supaiku and Surudoi frowned. Kawaii had found them so _easily_ . . . and he had brought up playing hide and go seek when Supaiku asked about Kawaii's abilities. Hmm . . .

Soon the two of them nodded to each other. After they blindfolded Kawaii so he 'wouldn't be able to peek', the two of them had him count again. This time they both hid in different spots, Surudoi under some bushes and Supaiku hid high in a tree, both making as little noise as possible while getting to and into their hiding spots.

To Supaiku's complete shock, Kawaii found both of them right away. Soon they both used more and more concealed hiding spots, and both of them began to realize what Kawaii had meant when they always failed to fool him. Eventually, both Surudoi and Supaiku decided Kawaii was good enough that they should try hiding 'clones' as well. Using their clones as they also used skillful traps to make different bushes and tree branches rustle to throw off Kawaii's hearing, they both felt confident that Kawaii wouldn't be able to find them.

When Kawaii found them both quickly, even noting where each trick and trap was, they both were astounded at Kawaii's skill. After they worked hard on trying to trick Kawaii, failing to do so again and again, Supaiku and Surudoi had to admit defeat. They just couldn't beat him. As Surudoi took the blindfold off of Kawaii, Supaiku thought of what they had just learned. Kawaii may not have been able to fight, but he didn't NEED to. His skill at locating hidden targets-not falling for tricks or traps while doing so-certainly would come in handy.

As they told Kawaii he had convinced them, Kawaii suddenly noted that someone was approaching the clearing. Surudoi and Supaiku turned around to find Baransu approaching, and were quite surprised to see he didn't look surprised to see Kawaii. In fact, Baransu looked _much_ more surprised that Surudoi and Supaiku hadn't killed each other yet.

It was only when he mentioned that when Supaiku even remembered about the fact that Surudoi was a kusarigama clan member. As the two of them glared at each other, Supaiku began to wonder . . . what in the world had made him . . . had he and Surudoi just pulled off _teamwork_ against Kawaii? Of course, it _failed_, but . . . but they had worked together.

Not only that . . . Supaiku was starting to wonder. Surudoi hadn't been able to bring herself to hurt Kawaii's feelings. But . . . that went against just about everything Supaiku knew about the kusarigama clan. Hmm . . . in the end, Supaiku decided he needed more time to figure this out. She could live . . . _for now_. "Alright, team nine."

Surudoi, Supaiku, and Kawaii looked at Baransu, who showed them two small bells that he secured to his pants. "These bells are your targets. You need to get them by noon, or you don't get any lunch. At the end of it, each person with a bell passes."

Kawaii abruptly spoke up. "Each . . . but there are only two bells."

Baransu nodded with a slight grin. "Correct. No matter what, at least one person will fail. That person gets no lunch _and_ gets tied to a stump while everyone else eats in front of them."

Supaiku grimaced as he realized . . . "Oh, come _on!_ What was the _real_ reason we weren't supposed to have breakfast?"

Baransu grinned, but besides for that he ignored the question. "You will have to come at me with the intent to kill."

As Supaiku and Surudoi nodded, subtly glaring at each other, Baransu grinned wider. "Begin!"

Both Surudoi and Supaiku practically flew into hiding, both quickly getting behind the same tree. Surudoi spoke to Supaiku as if she was speaking to dirt. "Alright, here's the plan."

Supaiku glared at her. "Hey, being of the Surujin clan I am _naturally_ superior at strategies than you are."

Surudoi glared right back at him, but before the two of them could continue the argument they suddenly heard Kawaii. "Can I please have the bells?"

Both Surudoi and Supaiku looked at each other in complete shock, had Kawaii just . . . as they saw the dumbstruck look on Baransu's face as well the two of them began to wonder if they should reconsider having Kawaii on their squad. Kawaii . . . as Baransu shook his head, he spoke. "No, you can't."

Kawaii looked confused, and as he spoke Supaiku really began to wonder if Kawaii's hide-and-go-seek trick was a fluke. "But . . . didn't you tell us we needed to _get_ the bells?"

Baransu's eyes narrowed and Supaiku flinched in shock as Baransu slapped Kawaii across the face. "Stop with the act you moron! Let's suppose you _aren't_ manipulating the Rensakage, let's suppose you _aren't_ just being a little bastard. Then why are you _here?_ You can't be a ninja, you can't even _play_ ninja!"

Supaiku's grip on his surujin's chain tightened with each insult Baransu used on Kawaii. Kawaii looked _deeply_ startled as Baransu continued. Then Baransu abruptly focused quite a bit of chakra into his left foot and slammed it into Kawaii, sending him flying over to where Supaiku and Surudoi were staying. Surudoi shocked Supaiku when she spoke, her voice trembling with rage. "That fucking _bastard!_ H-how _dare_ he do that to Kawaii!"

Supaiku nodded, and soon the two of them went over to where Kawaii was on the ground. He still looked extremely shocked, and as Supaiku and Surudoi helped Kawaii to his feet Kawaii spoke. "I-I . . . I didn't . . . I . . ."

Supaiku forced himself to smile. "Don't listen to Baransu, Kawaii."

Surudoi nodded with a smile of her own. "We think you will make a great ninja."

Kawaii gulped but then impressed Supaiku when he managed to get a hold of himself. "A-alright, I . . . I've got an idea."

* * *

><p>My GOODNESS! What a shock, KAWAII is on their team? I bet you NEVER saw that coming! I am SUPER sneaky, aren't I? Ok, to be honest, I'm not entirely certain. SHOULD I keep the prologue? I'm kind of thinking it may just give away a little bit TOO much, but I don't want to delete it without a second opinion. Again, feedback would be appreciated. The next chapter should be done ready to go soon.<p>

Update: 2/29/12

I'm going to assume that the lack of commentary or personal messages is either being caused by a lack of interest in my question or the idea that my PM settings may be blocking everyone from responding. I'll work on my settings for my private messaging and then wait patiently to see if I will get any more replies.


	10. The Decieved

Will Kawaii's plan work? Will Supaiku and Surudoi be able to keep from killing each other for the duration of the training? Both these questions and more may be answered in this chapter!

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><p>Baransu gave a grin as he looked around. Knowing Kawaii, he was horrified that someone had finally caught on to his manipulative personality, and was sweet-talking Surudoi and Supaiku in a desperate attempt to keep others from catching on. Of course, Baransu already knew the three of them were going to fail. Surudoi and Supaiku were far too obsessed with their hatred for each other to function as a team, and Kawaii was just a useless, manipulative bastard.<p>

However, Baransu still kept an eye on their locations. Right now the three of them were speaking to each other from behind a tree. While Baransu couldn't hear what they were saying, he already knew that Surudoi and Supaiku were arguing with each other, since that was about all that they could do. With a sigh, Baransu thought about why the Rensakage would have had him go through with the bell training anyways. The idea of the bells was completely pointless with this team, since they couldn't function as a team anyways because Surudoi and Supaiku were-

Baransu immediately focused as Surudoi and Supaiku suddenly slipped away from the tree, both going in opposite directions. Ah, so they had finally decided to give up and leave? Well that made perfect sense. As Kawaii shouted out to both of them, asking what was wrong with 'his idea'. Baransu chuckled as he realized the little manipulator had made a mistake, trying to get them to work together. So Kawaii was a moron after-

"Ninja art: Chain Charmer!"

Baransu barely turned around in time to see a very long chain erupt from the scroll at Supaiku's feet. Baransu chuckled as the chain missed him, headed for Surudoi. His amusement faded as part of the chain attempted to encircle him, but Baransu quickly ducked under it.

So was that a diversion, his aiming at Surudoi, or was that a bonus? Baransu barely dodged a surprise attack from Supaiku, the chain just _barely_ touching Baransu's skin. He grinned as he looked up, but that grin disappeared when he realized the clearing was suddenly empty. As a chain erupted from the ground, Baransu grinned. Collecting all of his chakra, Baransu released it, dispelling the genjutsu. So Supaiku's trick had been to just get the chain make contact with Baransu so Surudoi could use genjutsu? Hmm . . . maybe the Rensakage knew what she was doing after-

Baransu flinched as he heard the bells ring. As he turned, he was left dumbstruck to find Kawaii was right next to him, the bells in Kawaii's limp hand. He couldn't believe it. They had just . . . so the genjutsu was nothing more than a distraction so _Kawaii_ could quickly grab the bells? Baransu was left completely shocked as Kawaii smiled. "We did it!"

As both Surudoi and Supaiku smiled they went over by Kawaii. "Yeah! You did well, Kawaii."

While Baransu was still reeling from shock, it quickly gave way to amusement as both Surudoi and Supaiku began arguing about which one would be tied to the stump. "Hey, it was _because_ of me that you were able to get him with the genjutsu! You would have failed _epically_ if I hadn't been here!"

"Oh? Well let's think about this. Who was the one that _required_ me to use the genjutsu because he was too slow to bind Baransu themselves?"

"Here"

Baransu flinched as Kawaii held up his arm to Surudoi and Supaiku. The two of them flinched then cocked their heads. "To whom?"

Kawaii smiled before he gave his reply. "Both of you. I barely did anything, and . . . well . . . I-I'm fine without lunch."

Both Surudoi and Supaiku looked at each other then grinned. "Kawaii, are you . . . are you certain?"

Kawaii nodded, and soon Surudoi and Supaiku gently took the bells from Kawaii's hand. Baransu grinned, at least the two of them could recognize an opportunity when they saw it. After Baransu tied Kawaii up, he left the group for a bit to report their success to the Rensakage. "Well?"

Baransu flinched as he realized the Rensakage was leaning against a nearby tree. He gave a slight grin. "They succeeded. I guess you were-"

Baransu cut off when he noticed the Rensakage looked angry at him. "My lady, is there something bothering you?"

The Rensakage caught Baransu off-guard when she glared at him. What had _he_ done to anger her? When the Rensakage gave her answer, Baransu flinched as he realized the Rensakage had already known the outcome of the fight. "Why did you _say_ that to Kawaii? I know you don't like him, which in itself is unusual because Kawaii doesn't _do_ anything that deserves ridicule, but to just start yelling at his _face?_"

Baransu glared back at the field. "He is not a ninja, he is a manipulator. I know you are . . . confused by his actions and that everyone believes he's a cripple, but I _know_ better than that. Even if he is a cripple, it is for the best so he can't manipulate others through his own actions."

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth at that. "You can't say a _thing_ about the Kusarigama clan and the Surujin clan's feud. This petty hatred you have for Kawaii is the same damn thing!"

Baransu looked the other way then sighed. "Whatever. I'm going to see if there are any missions we can do."

The Rensakage let him go as she turned to watch team nine's squad members, still by the stump. As Baransu traveled to the correct building, he was surprised to find that there was a shortage of D-ranked missions. "_None_? Normally there are _hundreds!_"

The jonin working there nodded. "We just . . . we can't figure it out. All our normal customers stated that some other people have already taken care of their problems."

Baransu frowned, this wasn't right. As he sighed, one of the workers cleared their throat. "However, we have one C-ranked mission that would probably be workable for genin. We've got reports of a rogue ninja in the forest, a genin-ranked one that has been harassing travelers. He's been reported to be more of a coward, not a very dangerous opponent."

Baransu grinned. "We'll take that mission."

The jonin nodded. "Very well, we'll write it down that your group will do it."

After they told Baransu which road the genin-ranked person liked to prowl, Baransu left the building to go and tell his 'team'. On the way there, he thought to himself about the lack of D-ranked missions. That was quite strange in and of itself, so many people were willing to put in so many different odd jobs to do . . . this was the first time Baransu had ever heard about them running out of D-ranked missions. Eventually he sighed, it still didn't matter. They had a mission to do. Once he got back to the training grounds, Baransu found Supaiku, Surudoi, and Kawaii speaking to the Rensakage.

The Rensakage noticed Baransu right away, and Baransu grinned as he leaned against a stump. "We have a mission. We will be headed for the woods in one hour."

After he gave them the mission details Baransu was surprised when the Rensakage pulled him aside. Once they were out of hearing, the Rensakage frowned at Baransu. "A capture mission? Seriously? There's no way that's a D-ranked mission."

Baransu nodded. "They didn't have any D-ranked missions. The information I was given about this C-ranked mission made it seem appealing."

The Rensakage frowned as she looked to the side. "No D-ranked missions? That can't be true, just earlier this morning . . . hmm. I have something I need to figure out. Be careful, something seems strange about this mission."

Baransu nodded, not really paying attention. After the Rensakage left, Baransu returned to where his squad was. Once the remaining time passed, Baransu untied Kawaii from the stump and they all left for the forest. Baransu got to the trail first, followed quickly by Surudoi. They turned as Supaiku got there, carrying Kawaii. Baransu gnashed his teeth, but Supaiku ignored him as he gently let Kawaii down. As Kawaii thanked Supaiku, Baransu quickly turned as he heard a bush rustle. He grinned as Kawaii pointed it out, he honestly thought it wasn't obvious? What a naïve moron. As the four of them looked at the bush a figure suddenly leapt out of the bush and fled into the forest. "We've got a runner!"

(Switch to Rensakage's view jutsu!)

The Rensakage frowned as she entered the building, how stupid did Baransu think she was, _no_ D-ranked missions? Like hell that could be true! As she entered the room, she was completely startled to find five jonin restraining a different one. As the Rensakage asked what was going on, one of the jonin looked at her. She cringed as she noticed that jonin looked exactly like the one that they were restraining. "An imposter!"

The restrained jonin chuckled, and the Rensakage paled as the jonin looked at her with eyes she could recognize anywhere. _Orochimaru_! As he chuckled, soon knocking all of the jonin off of him, he stood up and grinned at the Rensakage. "Long time no see."

As the Rensakage readied her Sealing Chains technique, Orochimaru quickly avoided it. Orochimaru chuckled as he stood before the Rensakage. "Oh, is that how you greet people you haven't seen in years? I can see why you don't have too many friends, my dear."

As the Rensakage braced, Orochimaru simply chuckled. "So how's little Kawaii Akuma?"

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth. "Shut up, you _snake_! What are you doing impersonating a jonin?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Simple. I manipulated Baransu into accepting a very _specific_ mission."

The Rensakage paled. Baransu _had_ stated the truth? He had actually been _tricked_ into accepting this mission? "He's not going to find the 'genin', is he? He's going to find something else waiting there."

Orochimaru chuckled as he calmly walked towards the door. "Baransu? No, he won't find anyone else there. But Kawaii _certainly_ will. I'll be sure to keep in touch, my dear."

* * *

><p>What a SHOCK! Orochimaru has entered the story! What are his goals? What will Kawaii find in the course of this mission? Will Orochimaru's plan somehow involve snakes? Or is this just a hobby of his, stealing little boys? Maybe he IS a pedophile after all . . . Will Kawaii be ok? Wait for the next chapter, and you may find out!<p> 


	11. Foolish Little Kawaii

Ok, so let's review what went on in the last chapter. Thanks to an uncharacteristic act by Supaiku and Surudoi, and by that I mean they both actually worked TOGETHER, they and Kawaii managed to pass the bell training. Baransu himself decided to get another mission for his team right away. Orochimaru, disguised as a jonin, manipulated Baransu into taking a specific mission. It was also revealed that Orochimaru and the Rensakage know each other, and that Orochimaru seems strangely interested in Kawaii.

(What? I felt like writing a summary.) So what is going to happen next? Well I'm not certain, but if you read this chapter you may find out.

* * *

><p>Kawaii cringed as Baransu, Surudoi, and Supaiku leapt into the forest, in hot pursuit of the rogue genin. Kawaii sighed. He always felt ashamed when he was painfully reminded that his body didn't work like a normal body. With a sigh, Kawaii turned to leave. He'd meet them in the village. "Going somewhere?"<p>

Kawaii froze as he heard evil chuckles. As he turned to look, he found seven full-grown ninjas grinning cruelly at him. He gulped, this wasn't good. There was no point in trying to flee. Kawaii's condition made him a sitting duck. The seven ninja moved as one, and soon Kawaii was bound and gagged, unable to do anything as one particularly strong-looking ninja hoisted him over his shoulder. "Ha, some teammates. They just left him behind."

Kawaii blushed furiously. First of all, he should have _known_ that they were there! He was the sensor, why hadn't he noticed them? Second, Surudoi and Supaiku didn't do it on purpose! Baransu, maybe . . . okay, _probably_, but not Surudoi or Supaiku! He meant something to them, he wasn't useless, right? One of the other ninja's chuckled as well. "I still can't believe Orochimaru helped us pull it off."

Kawaii frowned, or at least as much as he could through the gag. Why did that name sound so familiar? The ninja holding Kawaii chuckled. "Orochimaru probably wants us in his debt. Of course, once we have Nanabi for ourselves, he won't be able to do that."

Kawaii flinched, Nanabi? He had heard that name a lot, and asking the Rensakage who Nanabi was never failed to get the Rensakage to snap at him. Kawaii was under the impression that Nanabi was the Rensakage's ex-boyfriend or something. But why would stealing Kawaii help them get back at Nanabi? Kawaii didn't understand, was Nanabi still trying to win over the Rensakage's heart or something? Eventually the group stopped in a clearing and turned to look at Kawaii. "Alright, drop him."

The man holding Kawaii chuckled cruelly. "I'll do better than that."

Kawaii felt the man grab him by the feet, and suddenly Kawaii was flying through the air. He closed his eyes as he waited for the impact he _knew_ was going to be really painful. The man had just thrown him at a tree! Kawaii's eyes flew open when he felt the impact against his back.

This wasn't a tree. He felt two hands grab him, and as he looked forward he saw all seven of the ninja staring in shock and horror. As whoever had caught Kawaii shifted his hold on Kawaii, Kawaii found himself staring up at a man wearing black robes which had a pretty red-cloud pattern on them. As Kawaii tried to speak through the gag, trying to ask if this man was Nanabi, the person looked down at him.

He wore a headband from the Village hidden in the Leaves but it had a strange scratch on it that went across the entire metal part. His black hair was tidy and his gaze was stern. However, the first thing Kawaii noticed was the man's eyes. He had the Sharingan. Kawaii couldn't believe it. He had just been caught by an Uchiha clan member! As Kawaii looked at the amazing dojutsu, he heard one of the ninja speak in a horrified voice. "_I-Itachi Uchiha!_"

The man looked up at the ninja then Kawaii felt himself moving as the man Kawaii realized was named Itachi turned around. When Itachi finally spoke, his words sounded so . . . calm. "Kisame, make certain none of The Seven leave this clearing alive."

Kawaii heard a chuckle from the clearing, and another man spoke with a scary voice. "I won't be long, Itachi."

Kawaii didn't see the second man, Itachi's hold on him didn't allow Kawaii to look behind them. After Itachi carried Kawaii away from the clearing, he surprised Kawaii by setting him down. Itachi removed the ropes and the gag and Kawaii realized Itachi was _helping_ him. "Th-thank you."

Itachi eased himself down to eye level with Kawaii, and Kawaii gulped as he stared at the Sharingan. Kawaii wanted it. He wanted it _so_ badly. "Kawaii, is it?"

Kawaii flinched as he re-focused on Itachi. "Y-yes."

Itachi's stern gaze never lessened as he spoke. "What does the name Nanabi mean to you?"

Kawaii flinched, but thought hard about it. "I . . . I really don't know much about him. I-I think he's the Rensakage's ex-boyfriend or s-"

When Itachi's eyes began to change shape, Kawaii paled. He immediately shut his eyes and looked away. Itachi had the Mangekyou Sharingan! Kawaii refused to open his eyes, shivering in fear. For some time, Itachi didn't say a thing. It really scared Kawaii, he could have been . . . that was too close! "You know?"

Kawaii gulped. He knew he shouldn't ask, but . . . how? "H-how . . . h-how could you kill your best friend?"

The next silence was so long that he began to wonder if Itachi was ever going to answer. When he did, there was something different with his voice. "I have done many things I am not proud of. He was dying already, I simply ended the pain."

The comment forced Kawaii's eyes open, and he was shocked and relieved to see that Itachi had transformed his Sharingan back to a normal one. Itachi's eyes were . . . really hard to read. He hid his emotions behind a stern-looking face. Eventually, he spoke. "You even know how to get the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Kawaii blushed furiously. He didn't want to talk about how he knew. Instead, he was surprised when Itachi asked what else he knew. Understanding that Itachi was simply curious, or maybe he wanted to learn something new, Kawaii said everything that he knew.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan is a powered-up form of the Sharingan, boasting many powerful attacks. Among them are Tsukuyomi, a powerful genjutsu that makes the victim find themselves in a world that is entirely controlled by the other person, Amaterasu, which is the most powerful fire technique that can be used, Susanoo, which creates something like a personal bodyguard that is controlled entirely by the user, then last but not least the dreaded Kotoamatsukami, which I think is the most powerful genjutsu that can be used on an opponent. It allows the user to manipulate the victim's actions without the victim even knowing. I-I believe it also carries the Izanagi from the original, the ability to revive yourself if killed."

Kawaii wasn't done, not by a long shot. "However, each one of these powerful jutsu comes at a cost. Tsukuyomi requires a very large amount of chakra. Amaterasu damages the eye, often badly enough to cause it to bleed. The Susanoo causes the user much pain, and the Kotoamatsukami can only be used by the right kind of eyes. The Izanagi is a last-resort, and costs the user one of their eyes. The Mangekyou Sharingan _by itself_ puts so much strain on the eye that with every use, the user's eyesight diminishes. However, by implanting the eye or eyes of a compatible Uchiha clan member, siblings working the best, it becomes the _Eternal_ Mangekyou Sharingan, which replenishes the user's eyesight permanently."

Kawaii was going to go on, but Itachi raised a hand to silence him. "I'm convinced, you know the Sharingan well."

Kawaii blushed furiously, but thankfully Itachi didn't ask how Kawaii knew so much about the Sharingan. Instead, Itachi mentioned that compared to the Byakugan, the Sharingan actually holds weaknesses. Kawaii shook his head. "The Byakugan is useful, the user automatically being an almost perfect sensor, but it doesn't share the hypnotic effects of the Sharingan. In short, while the Byakugan is better at seeing . . . well _everything_, it can't create genjutsu at all. Oh, and it has a blind spot."

Itachi's eyes widened for a moment, but then went back to the stern gaze. "A blind spot?"

Kawaii nodded. "Yes, at the back of the neck above the third thoracic vertebra. Also, while not permanent like with the Mangekyou Sharingan, using the Byakugan for too long will cause the user eyestrain."

Itachi looked to the side for a bit before looking back at Kawaii. "I was not aware that it had a blind spot. Above the third thoracic vertebra you say?"

Kawaii nodded. "The third dojutsu is the Rinnegan. It allows the user to master all five basic nature transformations, and allows . . . the creation of all things, I think it was? I don't know what that is, I never found it listed on the scrolls I-"

Kawaii cringed, oops. He should have thought about that last part before he said it. As Itachi cocked his head Kawaii knew that Itachi had put it together. "You learned all of this from reading scrolls? Do you truly fear dojutsu that much?"

Kawaii gulped, he had to say it. He felt the tears come down as he worked up the nerve to admit why he did. "No. I want one. I want one so badly. My body doesn't work like a normal person's, the amount of effort I have to put into _moving_ is so . . . it's so _exhausting_, and I can only move one limb at a time. I can still stand, but I have to be careful when 'walking' to time the switch because I can't regain my balance if I start to fall."

Kawaii looked the other way. "I'm _obsessed _with dojutsu. I-I even have dreams where I suddenly find myself with a dojutsu, and I feel so overjoyed that even with my body like this, I'm no longer a hindrance. Then I wake up and realize I'm still a useless _cripple._"

Kawaii wasn't certain, but . . . he thought he heard a sharp intake of breath from Itachi. If it was true, Itachi had regained his composure before Kawaii turned and faced him. Itachi looked the other way then looked back at Kawaii. "I apologize, but dojutsu are usable only by bloodline, unless the affected organ-in the dojutsu's case, the eye-is transplanted in another person. Let us speak of something else. I'm sure you are curious to Nanabi?"

Kawaii nodded. Itachi blinked once before he spoke again. "Nanabi . . . isn't human."

Kawaii flinched, so startled he attempted to take a step backwards which threw off his balance. Cringing as he began to fall, Kawaii was shocked when Itachi became a blur. In no time at all, Itachi had his arms on Kawaii's sides, stabilizing him. Kawaii blushed as he thanked Itachi, who retained his hold. "Nanabi is a monster."

Kawaii flinched again, but thanks to Itachi's hold Kawaii didn't fall backwards. But he didn't thank Itachi this time, he was too busy trying to hear what Itachi was about to say even before he said it. Itachi waited for a bit, but then spoke slowly. "Years ago, Nanabi laid waste to much of the land, along with eight other beasts. Each beast has a different number of tails, representing their strength. Nanabi had seven. As with the other beasts, Nanabi is _far_ larger than a human. Towering over trees, Nanabi once attempted to lay waste to a village. It was only stopped when it was imprisoned within a girl named Fuu."

Kawaii frowned. "But you said it is _huge_, how could it be put inside of a person?"

Itachi gave no hint that the question annoyed him. Kawaii wondered if he expected it, because he answered it quickly. "These beasts are a sort of sentient chakra given form. Using fuinjutsu, they revert to chakra and can be imprisoned within a person. As for their true form, it suffers the same fate, working much like storing a weapon inside of a scroll for later."

Kawaii sighed, he guessed that made sense. But . . . it still didn't explain . . . "Then why are they after me? I'm not Fuu, I'm certainly not Nanabi, I don't know about either of them, and . . . it makes no sense."

Itachi shook his head. "I have an idea to what happened. From my understanding, the fuinjutsu used on Fuu wasn't done correctly, so the seal was weak. It makes sense that someone would attempt to undo it and then make a new one. Kisame sensed that Nanabi's chakra, while very weak, was somewhere here. Then we found you, and heard what The Seven said. In order to test my idea, you will need to remove your shirt."

Kawaii flinched, how would removing his shirt . . . well, if Itachi had wanted to do this all along it was a testament to his patience and gentle nature that he was asking Kawaii to do it instead of ripping off his shirt himself. But of course . . . Kawaii blushed furiously. "I . . . I-if you don't want to wait all day, you're going to have to help me."

He didn't mean it to sound cruel, it was actually the truth. Taking off his shirt required so much of his time and patience . . . Itachi didn't seem offended, he gently eased the shirt over Kawaii's head. Itachi's eyes then focused on Kawaii's stomach, which got Kawaii to blush. This was very awkward.

When Itachi suddenly got out a kunai so fast that Kawaii could have sworn it had appeared out of thin air, Kawaii began to rethink his idea of letting Itachi take off Kawaii's shirt.

"Look."

Kawaii did, then suddenly realized his life wasn't about to end. Itachi was using the kunai, holding it in such a way that Kawaii could see the reflection of his stomach, along with a strange symbol on his stomach. "What . . . what is that?"

Itachi looked back up at Kawaii's eyes. "This is the seal. Your body and soul now resides as Nanabi's prison. Alright, you're coming with"

Itachi suddenly cut off as he looked at Kawaii's stomach again. As Kawaii looked through the reflection of the kunai, he realized the symbol was now surrounded by five prongs . . . wait, wasn't this . . . "A five-prong seal?"

Itachi nodded. "_Orochimaru_. This complicates"

Both Itachi and Kawaii turned as the same scary voice from before spoke. "Ah, Samehada is happy now."

Kawaii's eyes opened wide as he saw the man before him . . . actually, was 'man' really the right thing to call him? Kawaii believed 'shark man' would be a very fitting nickname, were those gills on this man's face _real_? Then in complete contrast to the man's _very_ intimidating appearance, there was a large . . . Kawaii wasn't certain what to make of it. The man appeared to notice Kawaii's confusion, because he grinned evilly at Kawaii, revealing serrated teeth. "Aw, what's the matter? Do I scare you?"

Kawaii gulped, he had to make certain he didn't offend this man. "I-I'm sorry, I just . . . w-well, yes you scare me. But . . . then there's the injured popsicle on your back."

Kawaii realized he made a big mistake somewhere when the man glared at him. "'Injured popsicle'? For one, it's not injured."

Kawaii cocked his head, then why . . . "Why do you keep it bandaged then?"

Kisame grabbed the stick-part of the popsicle. But Itachi suddenly moved and put himself in-between Kisame and Kawaii. Kisame flinched as Itachi shook his head. "Leave it be, Kisame. He didn't mean to insult you."

Kisame frowned at Itachi. "Oh, _sure_ he didn't. Itachi, NO ONE is that stupid. 'Injured popsicle' my ass!"

Itachi looked back at Kawaii before speaking to Kisame. "Kisame, he's _seven_. He's never seen bandages used for anything else, and when bandaged Samehada _does_ match the shape of the item he guessed it to be. Instead of being furious, _show_ him what it really is."

Kisame frowned, but soon reached for the bandaged part of the . . . well, Kawaii guessed that whatever it was, it probably wasn't an injured popsicle after all. But as Kisame undid part of the bandage, Kawaii's eyes opened wide. Whatever that thing was, he was certain he saw at the very tip . . . "I-is that a _mouth?_"

Kisame gave a grin as he brushed the tip of the thing against a tree, _shaving_ a good deal of the tree of its bark. Kawaii's cheeks flushed red as he realized that what he had mistaken for a popsicle was actually a sword, no _wonder_ Kisame was angered by Kawaii's question. "I'm so sorry, I . . . I didn't realize it was a _sword!_ But . . ."

It still didn't make sense. There was no . . . no _blade_, it looked like a big purple . . . popsicle with . . . _spikes!_ Still . . . "So it . . . I don't understand, how did it do that to the tree?"

Kisame grinned, and Kawaii flinched as he suddenly found Kisame's face inches from his own. "Let me tell you something about sharks, kid. If you're stupid enough to actually get close enough to pet one, that same thing that happened to that tree will happen to your hand, albeit on a _much_ smaller scale. Their skin is so rough that it grips onto everything that touches it, so when it moves forwards, it'll shred the skin of the thing touching it. My sword, the Samehada, works under that same premise, but on a _much_ grander scale."

Kisame got Kawaii to shudder when he brought Samehada close to Kawaii's face. "As for this mouth, Samehada's got quite an appetite when hungry. He hungers for chakra, and you are _full_ of it. So be careful before you decide to call him a popsicle because if I decide you are expendable, well . . . Samehada will enjoy the treat."

Kawaii gulped as he accidentally leaned just a little bit too far backwards. Before he could fall, Itachi suddenly appeared behind him and steadied him. "Kisame, Kawaii's motor skill are severely hindered. Try to refrain from causing him to lose his balance."

Kisame frowned as he looked at Itachi. "Since when are you so kind-hearted?"

Itachi looked Kawaii in the eye before he looked back at Kisame. "When I prepared a Tsukuyomi to use on him, Kawaii immediately shut his eyes and looked away, effectively shielding himself from it. When I inquired, he revealed that he knew _much_ about the Sharingan. It's not just the Sharingan either. He revealed a weakness to the Byakugan I had not been aware of. He also knows of the Rinnegan, although he knows little about it."

Kisame gave a grin at Itachi before flashing his teeth at Kawaii. "Aw, does Itachi have a friend?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed before going back to their normal look. Eventually, he stood up. "Besides for that, Orochimaru appears to have been the one to seal Nanabi within him. Unlike with the other jinchūriki, Kawaii himself is unable to access Nanabi's chakra. It's too risky to use the statue on him. First of all putting in Nanabi so early could cause it to break. Second of all, there's no telling if this seal would stop the statue from removing Nanabi. As such, it is best to wait for someone to remove the seal."

Kisame frowned and gave Kawaii the impression Kisame wasn't following Itachi's line of thought. But then Kisame's eyes suddenly sparkled with an almost diabolical glee as he broke out into a grin. "Ah, I see what you're up to. Very well, Itachi. I assume you're going to be the one carrying him, since I've already got a traveling companion?"

Itachi nodded, and soon . . . Kawaii wasn't really certain how it happened, he suddenly found himself on Itachi's back as Itachi and Kisame, who had somehow re-wrapped his sword in this time, walked out of the clearing.

* * *

><p>Hmm . . . curious. For those that don't understand the scheme Orochimaru was helping with, I'll explain. The Seven, a group of ordinary ninja that Orochimaru found and told a secret, wished to kill Kawaii and get Nanabi for their own gain. The reason Orochimaru was helping them was nothing more than he felt if they <em>did<em> manage to pull it off, it would be nice to have them in his debt.

However, Itachi and Kisame managed to be walking around the area, and Samehada picked up on Nanabi's chakra, although as noted by Itachi the amount of chakra it sensed was actually a very small fraction of Nanabi's strength.

It should also be noted that Kawaii is _extremely_ envious of Itachi's Sharingan. When asked, he revealed that he knew a _hell_ of a lot of stuff about dojutsu, and that the reason he does is because he wants one desperately. I believe that makes sense, after all his head is unaffected by his crippling motor skill deficiency.

Also Kawaii, the jinchuriki of Nanabi, learned that Nanabi resides within him. Not long after that, he also learned that in addition to the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style used to seal Nanabi within him, Orochimaru had placed the Five-Prong Seal on top of it. Now what does this mean? Good grief, look it up yourself. ANYWAYS, I'm really getting excited about this. I'm going to keep working on this story for now, so the next chapter shouldn't take long.


	12. The Dark Secret

Huh, this has to be the fastest one I've written yet.

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><p>Baransu grinned as he and Surudoi tied up the target. As they did, Baransu inquired to Supaiku's absence. She shrugged, stating that Supaiku had broken pursuit when he realized he had forgotten to take Kawaii with. Baransu sighed. He had completely forgotten that Kawaii 'couldn't' run. Honestly, how far would he go to prove a point? After they relocated Supaiku, who had found Kawaii and now was carrying him on his shoulders.<p>

Kawaii looked embarrassed and apologized for his falling behind. When Baransu decided to attempt to trip him up, stating that he thought Kawaii couldn't walk or do pretty much anything, Kawaii infuriated him by smiling and stating 'why do you think I fell behind?' Baransu was still infuriated as they made their way to the Rensakage's room, Baransu carrying the bound genin. When they entered the Rensakage's office, Baransu immediately noticed the Rensakage's gaze focus on Kawaii for a moment.

Soon the Rensakage asked about how the mission went. During this time, she continued to look at Kawaii, as if she was watching for something. When the mission details were done, Supaiku gently let Kawaii down. Kawaii then stumbled his way over to the Rensakage, asking if he could have a ride on her shoulders. The Rensakage's eyes narrowed. "No, I don't think so."

Kawaii seemed startled as he timidly looked away. "Y-you don't . . . but why not? It would be fun!"

The Rensakage grinned, catching Baransu, Surudoi, and Supaiku off-guard when she suddenly began making hand-signs. "_Because you're not Kawaii!_"

'Kawaii' looked startled as chains shot out of the Rensakage's sleeves at him. Baransu's eyes opened wide as 'Kawaii' evaded the chains with speed he shouldn't have been able to do. While Baransu certainly thought the real Kawaii was exaggerating about his crippled state, _this_ Kawaii moved too fast for Baransu to keep up with.

As a kunai appeared in the imposter's hand, he lunged at the Rensakage. The Rensakage easily parried with a chain before tossing back the imposter some distance. The imposter cocked his head as he licked his lips. When he spoke, his slithery voice made the hairs on the back of Baransu's neck stand on end. "What gave it away? I thought I was doing well at imitating the paralysis."

The Rensakage grinned. "The _real_ Kawaii would have thanked Supaiku for the ride instead of just walking forwards. He's got his 'polite' personality down to a fault. Now where's the _real_ Kawaii . . . Orochimaru?"

Baransu's eyes went wide as Orochimaru chuckled, transforming back into himself. "Oh, well. It can't be helped."

The Rensakage gave Orochimaru a glare as she spoke. "Where's Kawaii?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Right now? Somewhere in the forest. We'll know when he breathes his last because Nanabi will appear."

Orochimaru practically flew over to the Rensakage, grinning as he stood eye-to-eye with her. "It's too bad, isn't it? If only you had kept your part of the bargain, then Kawaii could not only have lived, but he could have lived a normal life. I told you, _a child that wouldn't be missed_."

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth as she slammed a fist against the table. "It was a good thing that I _did_ mess up then! If I had known it was you, then so much could have changed! I am _not_ proud of my actions during that time!"

Orochimaru chuckled before he turned to face Baransu and the group, his eyes stopping on Supaiku. As Orochimaru licked his lips, he began to pace the room. "I wonder . . . do _they_ know of what we did? Well as a thank-you gift for letting me ride on your shoulders, Supaiku, how about I tell you about something . . . _interesting?_"

Supaiku had out his surujin, but Orochimaru simply chuckled. "Are you aware of Fuu's disappearance?"

Supaiku gulped, but Orochimaru wasn't waiting for an answer. "Well, something was done wrong with Fuu's seal, allowing her at times to get corrupted by Nanabi's anger. She would go into a rage and it was quite a dangerous and terrifying sight. So when Fuu came here, I approached your Rensakage here with a deal."

Orochimaru grinned as he turned to face the Rensakage. "I would fix the problem, and all she would have to do was bring a young child to an abandoned house. Just in case something went wrong, I warned her to bring a child that wouldn't be missed. She failed to do that. Instead, she brought me Kawaii."

As Orochimaru turned and faced Baransu, Baransu . . . he just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But . . . no, you have to be lying! The Rensakage wouldn't do that!"

Orochimaru chuckled as he turned to face the Rensakage. "You can counter my claims at any time, my dear."

The Rensakage's face contorted with anger, but then she looked away, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I had no idea . . . he came to me disguised, his words were so convincing . . . I found Kawaii with his parents, random common people that were just passing through. So I . . . ugh, I still can't believe I did it! I kidnapped him, and brought him where Orochimaru had instructed."

Orochimaru grinned as Baransu felt like he was slugged in the stomach. How could she . . . as Baransu tried to comprehend it, Orochimaru chuckled cruelly. "And I came through with my part. I fixed the problem. I transferred Nanabi from Fuu to Kawaii while at the same time getting ready to strike at Nanabi's mind. I believe that's when Kawaii's parents intervened and disrupted my focus?"

The Rensakage gave a quick nod. Orochimaru grinned before he continued. "And his parents did something so noble and so _annoying_. They attempted to stop me. While they didn't truly succeed, they did manage to disrupt my focus. And that disruption"

Orochimaru grinned as he looked past Baransu. "-Is the 'accident' that damaged your brain, _Kawaii_."

Baransu heard a gasp he knew well then turned around to find Kawaii standing there, a look of complete shock on his face. Orochimaru chuckled as Kawaii looked away, but to Baransu's shock Kawaii spoke to Orochimaru, his voice impossibly steady. "But all you would have had to do was seal Nanabi within me, why did you attack her mind?"

Orochimaru grinned. "Why? Because that would stop her emotions from taking over you in the event that you used her chakra. After all, that was why Fuu was so dangerous. So in a way, I was doing it to protect you."

Kawaii frowned. "Then what happened to my parents? Where are they?"

Orochimaru gave a sympathetic smile. "I understand that you want to see them, but I want you to remember something. They knew the risk of trying to stop my jutsu, in a way _they_ are the reason that you can't move well. Come with me, and I will see what I can do to restore the part of your mind that is rightfully yours."

Kawaii gulped, but then shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, but I won't go with you."

Orochimaru's grin turned cruel. "I think you misunderstood me. I wasn't asking. You are coming with me."

Orochimaru's eyes slanted as he focused his vision on Kawaii. Baransu was shocked when Kawaii gasped, and beads of sweat came down from his face. He violently shivered as he looked at Orochimaru. "_W-what . . . what was that?_"

Orochimaru simply chuckled as he turned into a blur, aimed for Kawaii. Before Baransu could even flinch, a different blur moved behind Kawaii. Orochimaru stopped, clearly startled as Baransu found that the person behind Kawaii was . . . _Itachi_. Orochimaru was clearly startled, and Baransu was shocked as Orochimaru fell to his knees, clearly exhausted. "What . . . how?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed as Orochimaru cringed. "Kisame"

As Baransu paled, Kisame practically flew into the room and smashed his sword against Orochimaru's side, sending Orochimaru flying right through the window on the other side of the room. Kisame looked back at Itachi, who motioned towards the window. "Dispose of him if you can, drive him off if you can't. He's taken a Tsukuyomi, but don't let your guard down. I'll join you when I'm done."

Kisame grinned as he leapt out of the window. Baransu kept his eyes on Itachi, but Itachi only had eyes for Kawaii. "Kawaii"

As Kawaii faced Itachi, clearly distressed, Itachi spoke to him. "Orochimaru is dangerous. He makes promises that he never intends to keep and he knows how to get people to do what he wants. Don't let him get inside your head, lest you too fall to his ploy."

Itachi then got up, soon vanishing without a trace. For a while everyone just stood there. What had just happened? Once everyone began recovering from the shock, the Rensakage spoke first. "There. Now you know, Kawaii. That's what I've been hiding all of this time. I adopted you because I was personally responsible for the accident that robbed you of your body as it made you an orphan."

For a while, Kawaii just stood there, clearly in thought. It was a bit before he nodded to himself. "No. Orochimaru was responsible for the accident. He planned it all. My parents were the heroes, they tried to save me. You were as much a victim of the accident as I was. Orochimaru robbed you of so much . . ."

The Rensakage frowned. "What did he rob me of? You lost _everything_, I didn't lose a single thing. I should have jumped in to stop him, I should have never agreed in the first place."

Kawaii got Baransu by surprise when he smiled at the Rensakage. "He robbed you of your innocence. He took your confidence, he turned you into the villain, he robbed your self-respect, and he crushed you with guilt. Besides"

Kawaii smiled wider as a strange sparkle appeared in his eyes. "I know you did something heroic that day. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't. So come on. We've heard of what you are ashamed of doing. Tell me how I am still here."

The Rensakage flinched before giving a small grin. "As Orochimaru . . . _dealt with_ your parents, I decided that I had to do at least _one_ thing right. I grabbed you and ran from that house. To this day . . . I _still_ don't know how he didn't manage to follow me."

Kawaii smiled at her. When Surudoi began speaking, Kawaii turned to face her. "H-how? Manipulated or _not_, she robbed you of _everything_ . . . but you're not even a _little_ bit angry at her?"

Kawaii gave a slight smile. "I don't see a reason to be angry. It would be like getting angry at a kunai for hitting you when it was in fact the ninja that had used it."

Surudoi shook her head. "That . . . _how?_ How does this work, how can you just forgive her so easily?"

Kawaii gave a smile as he lifted up his arm, 'pointing' at Surudoi then at Supaiku. "It's how I work. It's why I don't understand why both of you could have hated each other so much that you wanted each other dead solely for the fact that you're of rival clans. I think that peace is the way to joy, and . . . well, haven't you seen my smile?"

Baransu was left speechless as Kawaii smiled at them. For the first time, Baransu began to wonder. What if it _wasn't_ a façade?

* * *

><p>Do I detect a shift in Baransu's thoughts? Who knew a giant fight scene could change your opinions of someone? Let's see if I can keep these chapters coming!<p> 


	13. The Researcher's 'Assistant'

Here's the next chapter! Just so you know, there's like an hour or so skip between this chapter and the previous one.

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><p>Jiraiya grinned as he looked around him. The area was perfect, and he saw no reason someone else would come over here. Besides, he had snuck into the Village of Chains, no one even knew that he was here. He grinned devilishly as he heard the women giggling as they bathed, this was <em>perfect!<em> Score! With a nod, he got out his telescope. "It's time to begin my research!"

Jiraiya giggled as he spied on the women. "Oh, I like that one! Oh, and _that_ one has the biggest set of-"

"Hi."

Jiraiya flinched and damn near dropped his telescope before he turned around. "Hey, who do you think you-"

Jiraiya cut off as he saw the seven year old child behind him, looking surprised and embarrassed. As the child looked the other way, Jiraiya quickly looked him over. The strange purple hair on the child's head was wild and unkempt, left in tangles that Jiraiya deduced would be impossible to control. The child's green eyes were what really got Jiraiya's attention.

Jiraiya thought that if he looked close enough, he could see a strange tinge of red that was barely visible. Looking farther down, Jiraiya noticed that the child's arms hung limp at his side. One of his legs was taking most of his weight, the other one appeared to be pretty much limp. As the child brought up one of his arms, Jiraiya immediately noticed that the child was putting in quite a bit more effort than he should have had to. When the child attempted to step back, Jiraiya came to his conclusion.

The child took one step back, and it clearly was too much for the child to do. He saw the child cringe just before he began to fall, the child was aware that he was falling but didn't even lift his arms in an attempt to regain his balance. His legs gave way, and it was only because Jiraiya quickly caught the child that the child didn't hit his head on the ground. As the child gave an embarrassed smile Jiraiya gave a slight grin. "Problems with your motor skills, kid?"

The child looked the other way. No longer needing the answer, Jiraiya decided to change the subject. "What's your name?"

The boy's eyes immediately sparkled with joy at the change in subject, and Jiraiya noticed that the strange red tint in the boy's eyes intensified for just a moment before going back to normal. "I'm Kawaii."

Jiraiya grinned before remembering that his research was still incomplete. "Hey kid, is there any reason you came up to me, like anything really important?"

Kawaii blushed as he shook his head no. "I-I just . . . I saw you, and I didn't recognize you so I thought I'd say hi."

Jiraiya grinned, quite a friendly little guy. "Well it's nice to meet you. I'm sorry, but I have research I have to do."

Jiraiya thought it was done, he'd figure out more about Kawaii later. But as he got out his telescope and giggled, noticing a third girl, he suddenly realized Kawaii was still next to him. "Do you need help with your research?"

Jiraiya sighed before he spoke. "No thanks kid, i-it's something you wouldn't have much experience with."

As Jiraiya thought he saw something _interesting_ happening in the bathhouse Kawaii spoke up again. "Yeah, but two people researching is better than one."

Jiraiya sighed. Kawaii was quickly becoming an annoyance. "Kid, not right now. This research is . . . I doubt you'd understand the importance. I'll talk to you later, right now-"

Jiraiya's eyes opened wide as he saw what else was happening in the bathhouse, _score!_ Oh yes, _this_ was what he liked to see! Now there were _six_ girls and Jiraiya-"Uh, you're drooling sir."

_Oh for . . ._ Jiraiya shut the telescope and glared at Kawaii. "_**DO YOU MIND?**_"

Kawaii flinched as he looked away. As Kawaii turned to leave, Jiraiya quickly went back to peeking. He quickly realized he probably should have kept his voice down when he saw the girls covering themselves and glaring at him. As Jiraiya decided staying in his vantage point was dangerous, he quickly got down and dashed past a very confused-looking Kawaii. When he decided he was a safe distance away Jiraiya quickly scaled the side of a building, quickly getting into a vantage point and looking quickly at the same bathhouse that he had been looking at before.

He cringed when he realized it was now empty, and he saw quite a few now-dressed women going over to where Jiraiya had been. Jiraiya grinned, they wouldn't find anyone th-_Kawaii! _Jiraiya quickly moved to a different vantage point. _Yes_ Kawaii had gotten him caught, but if the women got angry at Kawaii, he couldn't do anything to defend himself! When Jiraiya settled for a tree on the other side of the bathhouse, he quickly looked over at where Kawaii had been.

Jiraiya almost wished the women _would_ beat him up when he realized Kawaii was innocently giving the women an accurate description of Jiraiya. Jiraiya sighed. He'd have to lay low over there for a bit. Hmm . . . ah, there was a different bathhouse over there! Jiraiya grinned as he went over there and got out his telescope.

"_There_ you are!"

Jiraiya cringed as he turned around. Yep. All six girls were standing there, their faces contorted in rage. This wasn't going to turn out well. As Jiraiya gulped, he suddenly noticed one of the women was giving Kawaii a piggyback ride. As another woman helped Kawaii down, Kawaii smiled at Jiraiya. "Hi again!"

Jiraiya couldn't believe that Kawaii didn't recognize that he had just about gotten Jiraiya killed. "Hi Kawaii. Remember when I said to _not help me_ with my research?"

Kawaii smiled, looking completely unaware as the women cracked their knuckles. "Yeah, but after I told them it was all for researching . . . whatever you're researching, they said they would help you with the research."

What. Jiraiya couldn't help it as he broke out into a grin, how lucky could he _get?_ That little _genius_! "Oh! Ok, then. Good job Kawaii, you should see if you can find others to help me with my research too."

Kawaii smiled as he stumbled to the stairs. Jiraiya grinned broadly at the women. "So, I'm writing a book and I want to know . . ."

Jiraiya trailed off when he saw their glaring at him. "You're not helping me with my research, are you?"

As the women all shook their head, Jiraiya gulped. The beat down was quick, efficient, and above all _brutal._ Jiraiya had a nosebleed, two black eyes, and bruises all over him by the time the women were done. After they left Jiraiya tended to his wounds with a sigh. "Fine, I guess I'm going to have to lay low for a while."

Alright then . . . as Jiraiya put on the last bandage, he nodded to himself with a grin. "Well, now is as good a time to learn about Kawaii as ever."

Jiraiya soon located the Rensakage's headquarters. He kind of hoped she didn't remember him, the two of them had . . . well, the Rensakage had damn near castrated Jiraiya the last time they met.

Hmm . . . then again, maybe he didn't have to enter? He was certain someone else could tell him about Kawaii, he seemed to be well known around here. Jiraiya grinned as he decided that he should retrace his steps to figure out where Kawaii was. And that meant . . . Jiraiya grinned as he scrambled over to the first place he met Kawaii. Maybe the girls had decided to go back to their bath? When Jiraiya reached the area and got out his telescope, he heard girls giggling. Soon he was quietly giggling to himself as he brought the telescope to his eye.

_What the . . ._ Jiraiya couldn't believe what he was seeing. In spite of himself, he grinned. "Kawaii, you lucky _bastard!_"

Kawaii was in the bathhouse, smiling as the same women from before helped to soap up Kawaii's body. Jiraiya almost whimpered in need, _why did KAWAII_ _get to be bathed by six beautiful women? _Jiraiya gnashed his teeth in frustration. Kawaii clearly didn't act like he was interested in sex. Of course, with Kawaii being only seven years old that kind of made sense.

Here Kawaii was, not even _knowing_ how lucky he was. As the women continued to wash Kawaii up, Jiraiya found himself wishing he could be in Kawaii's place, and soon found himself thinking about what would happen if Jiraiya was in that spot, six naked women so close to him that Jiraiya could reach up and touch their-

Jiraiya was taken out of his dreams as he noticed something that greatly startled him. On Kawaii's stomach, there was a _seal!_ _**He was a jinchūriki?**_ Jiraiya couldn't believe it. Jiraiya just couldn't believe it. Jiraiya frowned as he focused on the seal. Hmm . . . strange, that looked like the Eight Trigrams Seal. But as Jiraiya continued to look, he suddenly noticed five prongs come into view around the seal. The Five-Prong seal?

Jiraiya frowned, as far as he knew he and the rest of the Sannin were the only ones that knew how to make that seal. Tsunade wasn't likely to have been the one to do it. Jiraiya didn't know where she was. Jiraiya _certainly_ didn't do it. He would have remembered Kawaii from before if he had. That left one other person, _Orochimaru._

Hmm . . . a five prong seal reinforcing an eight trigrams seal . . . that would cause Kawaii to be unable to use the chakra of whatever was inside of him, and it would make it very difficult for Kawaii to even use his own chakra. It was foolish to use an odd-numbered seal on top of an even-number, unless the goal had been to cripple the opponent and stop them from using chakra. "_Jiraiya_."

Aw, damn. Jiraiya put down the telescope and turned to find the Rensakage glaring viciously at him. Jiraiya sighed before he spoke. "Hold on, just hear me out."

The Rensakage glared at Jiraiya, but she didn't attack. Jiraiya nodded back at the bathhouse. "What can you tell me about Kawaii?"

Jiraiya had struck gold. The Rensakage's face practically erupted in shock before settling down with a look of guilt. "He . . . just how is that connected to the bathhouse?"

Jiraiya grinned as he nodded back at the bathhouse. "I was here a little bit ago, he unintentionally blew my cover and the women apparently tricked him into backing me into a corner. Now they're bathing _him_, and I noticed the seal on Kawaii's stomach."

The Rensakage blushed as she looked the other way. When she spoke, her words were halting. "Kawaii has Nanabi sealed within him. Orochimaru tricked me into one of his schemes. It ended with Kawaii orphaned and becoming Nanabi's jinchūriki, and . . . well, I only just got him away from Orochimaru's clutches."

Jiraiya frowned. "Orochimaru . . . but just look at Kawaii, he shouldn't be able to resist Nanabi's rage."

The Rensakage looked the other way before she spoke. "Orochimaru attacked Nanabi right when he sealed her in Kawaii. Nanabi's brain-dead now, and Kawaii took quite a bit of damage. From my understanding, Nanabi's chakra is drained right into Kawaii's to keep her mind from healing. Still . . . he can't draw it out. The damage to his mind crippled him."

Jiraiya gave a slight grin. "That's not it, my lady. Orochimaru made the seal too well, Nanabi's chakra is cut off from both Kawaii and Nanabi. The seal is creating an imbalance within him. Kawaii can't even access the chakra that's supposed to be his own."

As Jiraiya folded up his telescope, he spoke to the Rensakage. "Have him come to your headquarters soon and I'll see what I can do about the seal. By the way . . . have you noticed something strange about his eyes?"

The Rensakage frowned. "Strange? No, not really."

Jiraiya shrugged, maybe he was imagining things. "Alright, I'll be waiting in your headquarters."

Jiraiya walked away from the Rensakage then quickly changed direction. Seeing how Kawaii couldn't walk fast, Jiraiya could _easily_ continue his 'research' for a little bit longer before he went to the Rensakage's headquarters.

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><p>Ah, good old Jiraiya. I never got tired of his obsession.<p> 


	14. Surprise!

Hello again! I bet you thought I wasn't going to come back to this story. Actually, I was busy finishing up a different story and then going right into the second draft. But now I think it's about time I come back to this one and get back to work. SO, here's the next chapter!

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><p>Kawaii smiled as the women got him dressed. He thanked them generously for the bath. It really meant a lot to him that they were willing to take time out of their day to help him clean up. The women smiled at Kawaii, stating that it was no trouble at all. Kawaii continued to smile as they said goodbye before he went back over to where he had first seen the researcher. "Kawaii?"<p>

Kawaii turned and smiled when he saw the Rensakage leaning against the wall. "Hi!"

The Rensakage smiled at him then nodded in the direction her headquarters were. "Someone wants to see you, Kawaii. He said that he'd wait until you were fully clean first."

Kawaii smiled. "The researcher?"

The Rensakage grinned. "His name's Jiraiya. Here, you can ride on my shoulders."

Kawaii was delighted as the Rensakage gently lifted him up. She grinned up at him as the two of them went through the street to her headquarters. However, Kawaii frowned when they abruptly stopped. He looked down to notice the Rensakage was looking up at a certain building, looking extremely annoyed. "Damn him, I _knew_ . . . we're going to go this way for a bit. Something tells me Jiraiya's not where he said he would be."

Kawaii did his best to hold on as the Rensakage wall-jumped up to the top of the building. Kawaii was shaken like a ragdoll, but on the bright side he was still alive for now. Once he finally figured out which way was up again, he was surprised to see Jiraiya was up on the roof, looking through the telescope again. Kawaii smiled as he said hi, and as Jiraiya quickly turned around, seeming surprised to see them. "Huh, got done faster than I thought."

Kawaii smiled. "Did you learn anything from your research?"

Kawaii frowned and gulped as Jiraiya gave a strange, creepy smile. "Oh, yes. I learned a _lot_ about it, and I can assure you I will put this to good use."

As the Rensakage frowned at Jiraiya, he sighed. "Yeah, yeah. First off, we'll want to get to lower ground."

Kawaii cocked his head, but gulped as both the Rensakage and Jiraiya leapt down to the ground. As Kawaii's heart started to beat again, Jiraiya laughed. "You don't normally tag along for a jump like that, Kawaii?"

Kawaii shook his head no. He was a little unnerved by that, it scared him when his survival depended on if the person holding him was holding on strong enough. As the Rensakage apologized, Kawaii smiled at her. "I-it's alright, I'll be fine."

Jiraiya chuckled as the three of them went to a more secluded area. Kawaii was confused when they reached the forest, where were they going? After the Rensakage asked Jiraiya, he said that about here should be far enough. "Alright Kawaii, you're gonna have to be on your feet for this."

Kawaii was now really curious, and once the Rensakage got Kawaii down Jiraiya told Kawaii to stand in a specific spot. While both Kawaii and the Rensakage were curious about it, Kawaii obliged. Jiraiya smiled. "Alright, two more things to do. First of all, we're going to need your shirt off for this Kawaii."

Kawaii obligingly lifted an arm, and Jiraiya helped him remove the shirt. The desire to know what they were doing was driving Kawaii _crazy_, but he trusted them. Jiraiya smiled at Kawaii, although Kawaii also noticed Jiraiya was putting one of his hands behind his back. "Now Kawaii, I'm going to do something that should help you out a bit. It won't fix your motor skills, but it's the most I can do."

Kawaii's eyes sparkled in glee and thanks, but before he could express how grateful he was Jiraiya spoke again. "The last thing I need you to do is to close your eyes and think happy thoughts. You'll know when you can open them, okay?"

Kawaii smiled as he nodded. "Okay!"

Without another word, Kawaii shut his eyes. Oh, he wanted to know! What was the gift, he was so excited, he _loved_ getting gifts! Maybe it was a new shirt that he could somehow get on quicker, maybe it was something that could help him move, maybe it was . . . oh, he needed to know! "Can I open them now? Can I can I can-"

Kawaii's eyes flew open as he felt a very powerful hit to his stomach. "_**FIVE PRONG RELEASE!**_"

Kawaii barely got any time to think about it, he was sent _flying_ backwards, through the trees and right back to the village. He tumbled through the streets as he _slowly_ began to come to a stop. When he noticed the scenery change, he was astounded as he found he had gone all the way _through_ the village.

Still he tumbled, until a large rock acted like a ramp and tossed him up into the air. When he came down, he was quite surprised to find himself landing in water, which stopped his tumbling. He grew nervous, he couldn't swim! Just when he was wondering if this had actually been an attempt to kill him, he felt some hands grab him and pull him to the surface. For a while Kawaii coughed, getting the excess water out of his lungs as his body shook in both shock and pain. That had _really_ hurt!

When he finally could move again and his coughing fit subsided, Kawaii was shocked to see the same six women from before surrounding him. "Wow Kawaii, just can't stay away can you? Are you alright?"

Kawaii weakly nodded as he tried to catch his breath.

"Who_ did _that to you?"

(Switch-to-the-Rensakage's-view-jutsu)

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth as she glared at Jiraiya. "You _never_ told me that 'fixing' the seal would mean slamming your hand into his gut!"

Jiraiya grinned at the Rensakage. "Well, _that_ part had more to do with his interruption of my research. Come on, he should have stopped tumbling about half-way through the village."

The Rensakage gnashed her teeth at Jiraiya, but she soon dashed forwards to find Kawaii. While Jiraiya seemed confident that they'd find Kawaii right away, which was why he had sent Kawaii in the direction of the town, they soon found that while quite a few people had seen Kawaii flying through, no one knew where he had stopped. Eventually she raised her hands in frustration. "_Now_ what are we going to do? Thanks to _you_ Jiraiya, we can't figure out where he landed! This is _your_ fault! And you hit him that hard just because he stopped your _perverted_ actions, which knowing Kawaii wasn't actually _intentional?_"

Jiraiya frowned as he put a hand to his chin. "This _is_ strange, I hit him in this direction so he'd just roll to a stop. Where could he have landed?"

As Jiraiya and the Rensakage continued to look for Kawaii, the Rensakage began to get worried. Orochimaru and the Akatsuki had already proven themselves to be after Kawaii, had Jiraiya just gotten Kawaii captured? Come _on,_ there had to be a way to find him! And once she found him, she was going to _murder_ Jiraiya for hitting Kawaii like that!

"_**There he is!**_"

The Rensakage and Jiraiya both turned, and the Rensakage lifted an eyebrow as Jiraiya paled. Six women were standing there, glaring viciously at Jiraiya as they cracked their knuckles. "So you think it's _funny_ to hit poor little Kawaii when he was expecting some sort of _present?_ Just because _he_ can't pay you back doesn't mean we can't do it _for_ him!"

Jiraiya gulped as the women charged at him. The Rensakage quickly stated for them to halt, which to her surprise they did. One began to angrily speak at the Rensakage, but the Rensakage interrupted her. "Kawaii, where is he?"

The women looked at each other then nodded to the forest on the other side of the town. The Rensakage couldn't believe it, and wheeled around to face Jiraiya. "_You sent him into the forest after he tumbled through town?_"

Jiraiya seemed just as surprised, but one more woman spoke. "He landed in a _lake_ after apparently getting hurled into the air after hitting a rock."

Rensakage gnashed her teeth. "I'm going to see him. You six, this is an order. Beat the shit out of Jiraiya."

"Wait-_**I DON'T LIKE THIS PLAN!**_"

The Rensakage ignored Jiraiya, and instead grinned as she heard the beginning of the beat-down. As she walked into the forest, the sounds of the beat down faded away. Almost two minutes passed before the Rensakage finally found the lake, seeing Kawaii on his side next to the lake, drenched from head to toe.

He looked badly bruised as he lay down on his side, his face turned away from the Rensakage. The Rensakage immediately went to work, using medical techniques to help ease the pain. "I'm so sorry Kawaii, I had no idea he planned on doing that."

Kawaii grunted before he spoke. "I just . . . what did I do? I'm sorry, I won't do it again, I just need to know what I _did_."

The Rensakage sighed. "You annoyed him, apparently. The hit wasn't . . . he told me he was going to help you out, I had no idea he was going to _hit_ you like that!"

Kawaii gave a slight grunt before he spoke again. "So . . . I didn't do anything?"

The Rensakage nodded. "You didn't do anything Kawaii. How do you feel?"

Kawaii sighed as he stated that he had felt worse before. "By the way . . . i-is there something . . . _weird_ about this forest? Or did I hit my head on something? Or is it always . . . I don't know how to explain it, I think something's wrong with my eyes."

The Rensakage stepped over Kawaii's body, and flinched when she looked at Kawaii's eyes. Instead of the normal green they had been before, they were now _red_. Not just that, they were _unmistakably _red, not just a tiny bit. "I . . . I don't know, I'm going to have to ask Jiraiya about it."

Kawaii smiled at her then both of them flinched when Kawaii's eyes abruptly glowed red. "_**Huh?**_"

Kawaii shook his head for a bit before he looked around again. "Well that was weird. Huh."

The Rensakage frowned as she soon put Kawaii onto her shoulders. Just what had Jiraiya _done_ to Kawaii?

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><p>Ah, good old Jiraiya. I never got tired of his amusing actions.<p> 


	15. See No Evil

Hello again! It's time for another chapter!

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><p>Kawaii didn't know what to make of it. There was something really strange going on with the forest. It was like the trees kept on getting closer then would suddenly go farther away. Kawaii had to admit, it was really dizzying-<em><strong>WHOA!<strong>_

Kawaii suddenly got the impression all the trees were rushing past him, and when it stopped . . . hey, he could see Jiraiya running this way. He must have been really worried about Kawaii because Jiraiya was running _fast_. "Hi Jiraiya-HUH?"

As Kawaii flinched, he suddenly could no longer see Jiraiya. This was so weird, he could have _sworn_ . . . as the Rensakage looked up at Kawaii, Kawaii blushed. "Uh . . . I thought I saw Jiraiya."

The Rensakage gave a slight grin at Kawaii. "No, really? I thought you were expecting Baransu."

Kawaii cocked his head. Why did the Rensakage think he was expecting Baransu? Had Baransu _said_ that he was going to come to the forest? Or did Kawaii say Baransu before? "Did I say Baransu? I'm sorry, I just . . ."

The Rensakage shook her head before grinning up at Kawaii, an almost teasing smile on her face. "Never mind Kawaii, I forgot you don't pick up on sarcasm."

Before Kawaii could question it more, Jiraiya suddenly came into view. Kawaii smiled when he saw Jiraiya, but the Rensakage seemed surprised. As Jiraiya said something about outrunning a pack of she-dogs, Kawaii wondered whether Jiraiya had tried to pet the wrong puppy or not. As the forest suddenly did the zoom-zoom thing again, Kawaii saw Jiraiya flinch. As Kawaii shook his head, Jiraiya grinned. "I _knew_ it! That red tint was a sign of your dojutsu!"

Everything else faded away for Kawaii. D-did Jiraiya just . . . just say that . . . _Kawaii_ had a . . . a dojutsu? The Rensakage seemed shocked too, and questioned which one it was. Jiraiya shrugged as he answered. "How should I know? I've never seen one that makes their eyes glow like that." Kawaii blushed, so no way to know what it was? Oh, well. It was still REALLY cool to have it.

Kawaii wasn't entirely certain what all happened after that. His best guess was that the Rensakage had important work to do, and as such decided to leave Kawaii with Jiraiya. This was after the Rensakage told Jiraiya that he should help Kawaii learn more about this dojutsu or she would have the girls hunt Jiraiya down, whatever that meant. Kawaii then found himself on Jiraiya's shoulders as he walked back to the Village of Chains.

While Kawaii did ask why Jiraiya had hit him so hard in the stomach Jiraiya noted that he hadn't taken Kawaii's weight into account, and as such expected him to slow down much faster than he had. Kawaii accepted that, mainly because he was much more interested in figuring out the limits of his dojutsu.

Soon, Jiraiya carried Kawaii to a nearby building. As he set Kawaii down, Jiraiya had a large grin on his face. "Alright, now first up I want to see if it holds the perceptive eye. I'm going to make a movement, then ask you to tell me something in particular about it. My question could be about anything that I did, so try to perceive everything I do."

Kawaii nodded, and just as Jiraiya told him to, Kawaii focused hard on Jiraiya. He soon saw a slight reddish tint, which he hoped meant that he was doing it right. When Jiraiya moved, there was something . . . _different_ about how Kawaii saw it. It wasn't what he was expecting to happen. It was kind of like Jiraiya had slowed down slightly, or like time itself had slowed down.

Kawaii was shocked as he watched Jiraiya move. Jiraiya quickly jumped back about 15 feet, and at the apex of his jump Jiraiya had been about 6 feet off of the ground. As Jiraiya landed, Kawaii noticed quickly that Jiraiya's right hand was clenched into a fist as his left hand's fingers curled up slightly. Jiraiya then dashed to the right, taking exactly 7 steps and going at about 20 miles per hour. When he stopped, his toes curled up slightly and his left hand made a strange sign.

Kawaii remembered to look at everything, and that alerted him to Jiraiya's right hand reaching out and grabbing a kunai. It was really subtle, and as Jiraiya lightly tossed the kunai towards Kawaii's position Kawaii watched and moved his left foot slightly. He soon found that was unnecessary, the kunai lightly bumped into the ground about half an inch from the big toe on Kawaii's left foot. It wouldn't have hit him even if he hadn't moved. "Alright, Kawaii."

As Kawaii stopped concentrating he was startled at just how _exhausted _he suddenly felt. He felt like he normally did after his morning routines, or at least before the Rensakage had bought Kawaii the pull-up pants. As Kawaii breathed heavily Jiraiya gave a slight grin. "Well, at least I know _something _happened."

Kawaii nodded eagerly as he waited for the question. Jiraiya gave a grin at Kawaii's eagerness before he finally asked. "How many steps did I take, including the jump as one?"

Kawaii smiled as he eagerly gave the answer 'eight', and Jiraiya grinned broadly. "Alright. I'm going to ask more questions just to make certain it wasn't a fluke." Kawaii nodded happily in agreement. For at least ten minutes Jiraiya continued to ask questions. At about the five minute mark, Kawaii made his first mistake.

For the last five minutes Jiraiya asked more and more subtle questions, about which finger was doing what, about where he was facing, what he was looking at . . . well, Kawaii soon grew flustered as the number of wrong answers began to grow.

By the time they reached the ten minute mark, Jiraiya stated that he had heard enough. Kawaii felt his cheeks burning red, he felt like his number of right answers was very small compared to the number of wrong answers. Jiraiya strangely, at least it was strange to Kawaii, didn't seem all that disappointed as he observed Kawaii's embarrassment. Maybe it _had_ just been a fluke? Jiraiya got Kawaii by surprise when he chuckled. "Why the long face Kawaii?"

Kawaii looked the other way, too embarrassed to explain how for just a bit, he had thought maybe he had been doing well with the test. But Jiraiya chuckled as he folded his arms. "Well, there was a _very_ clear difference from the normal person. If you're wondering, some of those questions _had_ no answer. I was asking questions about things that hadn't actually happened. However, that's not to say you got _every_ answer correct. It looks like your dojutsu holds a _partial_ perceptive eye. It's not as good as the Sharingan, but it's clearly better than the average person's eyesight."

Kawaii was shocked, but he made sure to remember that. So his dojutsu, so far, was proving itself to be similar to a lesser Sharingan. Then again, this_ was_ Kawaii's first time using it . . . well he'd get back to that one. Kawaii immediately looked up at Jiraiya with a smile. "So what's next?"

Jiraiya chuckled before he carried Kawaii out of the village. After setting Kawaii next to a stump, Jiraiya stated for Kawaii to stay there. Kawaii obliged and waited for Jiraiya, his mind buzzing with excitement at the prospect of what else his dojutsu could do. He just couldn't wait, he was so _excited!_ Kawaii actually had his _own_ dojutsu, this was _incredible! _When Jiraiya came back, Kawaii was surprised to see Jiraiya holding a large closed bag. As he set it down on the stump, Jiraiya explained what he wanted Kawaii to do. "Now that we know you have the perceptive eye, let's see about the penetrating eye. I want you to tell me what's in this bag."

Kawaii nodded, and as Jiraiya stepped back from the bag Kawaii focused on the bag. As he did, he noticed . . . there was the change, but it was different this time. Staring at the bag, Kawaii . . . he didn't know how to explain it. Maybe . . . it was like the bag itself was turning into a strange outline, and as Kawaii continued to stare he began to see . . . forms inside of it. He focused on them, and soon found himself staring at . . .

"Apples?" As Kawaii blinked, everything returned to normal and Kawaii found himself with a headache. Jiraiya got Kawaii to smile when he opened the bag, and Kawaii saw apples in the bag. He had been right! Yes!

"Alright, penetrating vision confirmed. Let's try 360 degree vision." After having Kawaii stare at a specific tree, Jiraiya asked Kawaii to try to 'see' Jiraiya as he walked out of Kawaii's field of vision. Kawaii certainly tried, but he had trouble keeping his eyes focused on the tree and trying to see Jiraiya. Unlike before, there was no . . . no 'change' as there was before.

Eventually, he sighed. If he _did_ have 360 degree vision, it certainly wasn't kicking in at the moment. "I . . . I don't think I can do it."

Jiraiya frowned but didn't push for Kawaii. Instead, he went on to seeing if Kawaii could zoom in on something. But before Jiraiya could even tell Kawaii how he wanted to test it, Kawaii suddenly realized something. "I . . . I _can._"

At Jiraiya's question, Kawaii explained what had happened when Kawaii was on the Rensakage's shoulders, how he had suddenly seen Jiraiya running towards them. He understood now, he had seen Jiraiya even though Jiraiya had been far away!

After testing a few more 'abilities', none of which Kawaii could get to work, Jiraiya decided they had found enough for now. Kawaii certainly agreed. Perceptive vision, Penetrating Vision, and that cool zoom-zoom thing was more than Kawaii had hoped for, this was _awesome!_ He couldn't wait to show his teammates that he was actually able to be useful now!

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><p>Ok, one thing I wish to note. I'm not a 7-year-old, so I realize I'm probably not doing a good job of telling the story from Kawaii's point of view. As such, there may be changes every now and then. One of them is starting to appear already. Sound effects! Bam Bam, Zooooooom! Typical 7-year-old behavior, at least I think it is.<p>

While I know that I'm not exactly steady with giving updates, it's NOT going to get any better. Now I actually have to worry about college stuff, so I may have more time between updates.


	16. A Big Mistake

Hello there! Sorry for the HUGE lull in activity, I've had a lot on my mind to think about. I believe it's been settled, so hopefully I can get back to work on this!

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><p>Surudoi smiled as she spoke with her mother. While there certainly was something . . . <em>different<em> about them now, her entire clan was elated at the finished mission _and_ the finished bell-training. Surudoi also noted that some of them appeared more relieved at the thought that Supaiku was still alive.

Speaking of which . . . when her mother had pulled Surudoi aside, Surudoi was expecting something like what she said before about her not being capable of beating Supaiku, which she _still_ strongly disagreed with. What Surudoi _actually_ heard was something quite a bit different. Her mother instead spoke about someone else. "So what are your thoughts on Baransu, Surudoi?"

Surudoi couldn't help but gnash her teeth, that _bastard!_ She still couldn't _believe _Baransu had the _gall_ to attack Kawaii like that during the bell test! Then he had forbid Surudoi and Supaiku to allow Kawaii to ride on one of their backs, which was the _only_ reason Kawaii had been left behind during that mission! "He's a heartless bastard that wouldn't know the meaning of 'team' if it shoved a finger up his ass!"

Surudoi's mother laughed at that before she shook her head. "He still pissed off at Kawaii? That doesn't surprise me, if you want an honest." As Surudoi looked at her mother in shock her mother spoke. "Baransu . . . he was always so stubborn. He'll get an idea, normally one influenced by emotion, and will cling to it desperately."

Surudoi frowned as her mother subtly glanced at her. "But why does he hate Kawaii so much? What did Kawaii _do_ to deserve Baransu's hatred?"

Surudoi flinched as her mother sighed. "Baransu Manrikigusari has had a tough life. Orphaned at the age of five, Baransu's cries for help were ignored by the entire village. He was forced to live by himself, begging for food and having no true home of his own. This continued for some time, until the Rensakage took him in. He's almost blindly devoted to her, grateful for her help in his time of need.

"Then Kawaii appeared. Like Baransu, Kawaii entered the village as a stranger. Unlike Baransu, who was given no sympathy, Kawaii immediately gained everyone's attention. Knowing Baransu, he's enraged that Kawaii is so well known and liked. But even more than that, Kawaii is never angry. They both have similar pasts, but Kawaii gets food on a silver platter while Baransu didn't even get the crumbs. Surudoi, Baransu is _furious_ because he doesn't understand how Kawaii is so well liked."

Surudoi frowned, why . . . "But that's not Kawaii's fault."

Her mother nodded. "It's because of his youth and his gentle and kind nature that Kawaii is so well known. Baransu doesn't have either of them, he was easily angered and often gave violent outbursts to vent out his frustration. He's come a long way since then, but every time he's around Kawaii, who he believes is _faking_ his condition to get attention, Baransu has a setback."

Surudoi froze. "B-but . . . Kawaii wouldn't . . ."

Her mother smiled gently at Surudoi. "Of course he wouldn't. No offense to Kawaii, but he's simply not smart enough to keep up a manipulation for so long, especially at his age. He is all too aware of his condition, and it embarrasses him that he has to ask for help. While yes, we certainly help him, it's not because Kawaii deceives us into helping him. It's because he _needs_ it."

Surudoi smiled at that, it was certainly true. Kawaii was so helpless . . . his body just didn't allow him to defend himself, and now that Surudoi knew about Nanabi . . . for Kawaii to put up his joyful façade was really impressive. As Surudoi thought about him, Surudoi's mother sighed. "Still though, the Rensakage actually putting him into a _squad_ . . . don't get me wrong, I can certainly see why he's there, but . . . it's just so _dangerous_, and poor Kawaii is so _young_ . . . he's just not made to be a ninja. A better way of putting it is that the Rensakage's making the two of you _babysit_ him."

That got Surudoi to smile. "You're wrong. Kawaii is _perfect_ for the squad." As her mother looked down at her, clearly confused, Surudoi chuckled. "Kawaii was the one that got the bells from Baransu."

Her mother smiled at Surudoi "Yes, but only because you and Supaiku worked together to get Baransu over to Kawaii."

Surudoi grinned up at her mother. "Just like Kawaii had planned. HE is the one that came up with that plan. HE is the one that planned it all out. He has his naivety, but when he truly _does_ understand the situation, he's so _clever_. Because his body's so limited, his mind's trying to pick up the slack."

Surudoi's mother looked very surprised to hear that. "But Baransu had noted Kawaii's plan had _failed_, that you two didn't agree with it."

Surudoi chuckled. "That was Kawaii's trick. He asked us what was wrong with his plan to throw off Baransu's suspicion. You really should have been there mom. Kawaii was such a clever little kid! A-and he's a _really_ good sensor, I've never _seen _someone so alert!"

As her mother's eyes sparkled with amusement, they both turned when they heard Baransu. He was standing there, his normal frown on his face as he stated that they had another mission, and to meet at the road leading out of the village by 2:00 pm.

In less than an hour, Surudoi was waiting on that road with Baransu and Supaiku. While both Supaiku and Surudoi glared at each other, Surudoi grudgingly admitted that it just wasn't worth the consequences to kill Supaiku, if _only _just. The three of them waited for Kawaii to show up, but as Baransu mumbled how Kawaii was late Surudoi reminded him that there was still a good five minutes to the mission start time.

"Hey, this kid with you?" Surudoi turned quickly as a weird man with white hair walked out of the forest, Kawaii on his back. Surudoi and Supaiku immediately flinched as they saw that Kawaii's eyes were now red instead of green, but as a very eager Kawaii weakly waved a limp hand at them Surudoi smiled. Even if the eyes were different, it was still the same happy little Kawaii.

While Surudoi asked Kawaii what had happened to Kawaii's eyes and Kawaii opened his mouth to speak, Baransu interrupted. "Alright, let's get going."

While Kawaii looked shocked, and partially flustered, the man gently set Kawaii down. "Another mission already? You're really pushing them hard Baransu."

Baransu glared viciously at the man. "That's not your call. I apologize that you got stuck rescuing Kawaii from whatever danger he's recently gotten in, but I shall _not_ be lectured by you!"

The man sighed before saying goodbye to Kawaii and leaving. As Baransu led them down the path, Kawaii looked to the side for a bit. He seemed focused on something, so Surudoi went vocal. "What's up Kawaii?"

Kawaii frowned. "I think there's someone over there, in the bush."

While Surudoi and Supaiku got out their weapons, Baransu didn't even slow down. "Good to know, probably another person that 'cares' for you. Honestly Kawaii, there's more to being a ninja than pointing at a random bush, saying someone's there, and hoping you're right so you can 'prove' you are a ninja. Now let's get moving, this mission will require us to reach the next town quickly."

Surudoi glared at Baransu, but Kawaii meekly complied with Baransu's demand the best of his abilities. As they continued on their way, Surudoi noticed Kawaii still looking back at the bushes every now and again. Eventually Supaiku spoke to Baransu, asking about the mission.

Baransu spoke with clear irritation in his voice. "A rich peddler and his son are approaching the Village of Chains. They're well known, and a messenger stated that the group of guards they had to defend them is going to head back to their village. We're going to be taking over guard-duty."

Baransu had an angry look on his face as he continued to walk. "They want us to hurry, which of course isn't an option because of a certain someone in our group not being able to hurry. Perhaps if we stumble along at our quickest pace, we can get there before they die of old age."

Surudoi glared at Baransu. "It's not his fault! One of us could carry him and we could get there in about an hour! Quit pinning the blame on Kawaii, it's because _you_ won't let anyone carry him!"

Baransu turned around and glared at her. "I'm not as stupid as you appear to think I am. Kawaii's a hindrance as a ninja, he can't do anything but be rescued. All he does is set us back again and again. He's worthless as a ninja, he's nothing more than a cripple!"

Surudoi turned when Kawaii gasped, and she saw him start to tear up. "Th-that's not true! I-I'm . . . I'm not . . ."

Surudoi looked over at Supaiku, who had a dark scowl on his face as he reached for his weapon. Surudoi grinned as she reached for her own. "Yes you are. You are useless, and your actions are worthless."

Kawaii flinched as both Surudoi and Supaiku advanced. Supaiku chuckled. "Kawaii, you have a severe motor deficiency. You are a sensor, and are useless in a fight. So what's that tied around your leg? I clearly see a kunai handle sticking out of that pouch, _Kawaii_. You can't even grasp it, you can't even move it fast enough to cut something! _Now where's the real Kawaii?_"

The impersonator gave a sigh before transforming into their true form, a tall man. "Damn, I _knew_ it wasn't a good idea right from the start. No matter, I've already fulfilled my purpose. If I could direct your attention to the trees over there, you'll see the real Kawaii."

Surudoi looked and gasped. Kawaii was hanging limp from some woman's hands, a kunai against his neck. The woman chuckled before speaking. "So you are the new guards, huh? I wonder if you have what it takes, I certainly haven't seen anything impressive. Well, besides for this kid."

The woman chuckled as she eyed the group. "Baransu, guess what? This kid saw me, he even alerted you. And yet you didn't think twice about it. Are you always so hard-headed? Do you know when we made the switch? We made the switch after you so coldly told Kawaii he was wrong, and his teammates glared at you. Well, I have some use I can make out of-"

"_Wind Style: Slicing hurricane chains!_"

Surudoi paled as a large rush of wind came from Baransu's palms. "_**WHAT?**_ What are you doing, she has Kawaii hostage! That attack will-"

She no longer had to ask as Kawaii was sliced in half. The attack went right through him, slicing the woman in half as well. For just a moment Baransu grinned, then they all gasped in shock as Kawaii and the woman turned into water.

"What . . . how did you know?" They turned to see the man standing there, visibly shaken. "The water clone was even unconscious! There was nothing that could have given it away!"

Baransu gave a slight chuckle. "Who said I knew? Kawaii doesn't use his legs anyways."

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><p><em>Ouch<em>. Just _ouch_. Do I detect a _majo_r event that's going to have _serious_ repercussions? I doubt that my next chapter will take _nearly_ as long to appear: I've almost got all of it done.

Oh, by the way: 'He's a heartless bastard that wouldn't know the meaning of 'team' if it shoved a finger up his ass', if it's not clear enough this is a reference to one of my favorite taijutsu.


	17. The Pawn

Heh, not even an hour after the chapter before this one was posted I'm posting this one.

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><p>Kawaii gasped, frozen to the spot in terror. He felt the woman's hand on his shoulder as they watched the proceedings from a little distance away. The woman then quickly picked up Kawaii and brought him farther into the forest. Kawaii was too busy trying to understand what Baransu had just said. I-if that <em>had<em> been Kawaii . . . Baransu wouldn't have stopped! H-he would have _killed_ Kawaii! Once they were a good distance into the forest the woman gently set Kawaii down, turning him to face her. "You see? He doesn't care for you. He _wants_ you dead."

Kawaii felt the tears begin to flow. "H-he . . . h-he . . . b-but I . . . b-but what did . . . th-that could have been me!" Kawaii couldn't help it, he cried.

The woman gently wrapped her arms around him as Kawaii cried. "I had expected him to do something, but not that. I knew he hated you, but if I had known he was going to do that then I wouldn't have made you watch. I'm sorry Kawaii, I didn't think he'd go that far."

Kawaii continued to cry, he felt like he had just been . . . _betrayed!_ H-he could have _died_, and at _Baransu_'s hands! It took a long time before he managed to regain control, but once he did he shuddered. "I-I don't know what to do. The Rensakage wouldn't believe me . . . I-I can't go back, h-he will _kill_ me!"

The woman gently held Kawaii close as his thoughts went into a panic. Eventually, Kawaii gulped. "Thank you. If you hadn't taken me away like that, I would have been killed. But . . . now I have nowhere to go."

The woman gave Kawaii a kind smile. "Come with me, Kawaii. I won't hurt you, I know you are much more than meets the eye. I'll raise you like a son."

Kawaii gulped before he nodded. Above all else, he couldn't go back to the village. H-he needed a new place to go, where he wouldn't be hurt, and this woman was offering that. Soon the woman and Kawaii reached a village, and before they went in the woman gently set Kawaii down. Explaining that she had someone she needed to see, the woman promised Kawaii that she'd be back.

(Woman's view)

The woman chuckled cruelly as she got out of Kawaii's hearing range. This was _excellent_. She was quite surprised stubborn Baransu was actually willing to kill Kawaii, but it certainly helped her out. "My lady"

The woman grinned as her group appeared in the surrounding trees. The woman couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. It took some time before she got a hold on herself, but once she did she grinned evilly. "This couldn't be going better. We've got him."

Some of the group chuckled, but a few others cocked their head. "So why are we interested in him again? Hasn't this struck _anyone_ else as strange, that we now have a little kid here?"

The woman chuckled. "_Many_ reasons. Now his teammates are furious at their leader, they won't be able to function effectively. We've put the team against its leader, and we've got a boy with a dojutsu on our side. I don't know what it's all able to do, but those eyes saw our scout. Now remember, we are going to kidnap the peddler's son to blackmail the peddler out of all of his money. Why don't we have the peddler's son yet?

"Because they _know_ we are after them. As such, the child's being protected via genjutsu, none of our sensors can find him. For extra precaution, the peddler's location is being kept secret. Even if the genjutsu still fools Kawaii's eyes, he may be able to locate the peddler. What's more, thanks to his squad leader's heartless actions Kawaii feels betrayed. He will certainly suffer from abandonment issues. That means Kawaii will be _easy_ to manipulate, he'll try to keep on my good side so I don't abandon him as well. I'm going to keep him like that. I want him to see me as safety. Now remember what I said, keep out of sight whenever he's nearby. I want to make certain it's _me_ that he forms a bond with, and it will stop anyone from ruining the entire thing. Now, here's the plan."

(Kawaii's view)

Kawaii was still in complete shock. H-he couldn't believe how _cruel_ Baransu had been! Why . . . why had he _done_ that? What had Kawaii done to make him angry? He didn't understand! Kawaii felt the tears begin to flow, he was so afraid now. He felt so . . . so _alone_.

Every minute seemed to creep by so slowly. It didn't take long for Kawaii to get worried. I-it couldn't be, _right_ after his squad had betrayed him . . . n-no, the woman said that she'd come back. Sh-she wouldn't . . . she wouldn't . . . _abandon_ him like that . . . right? _Please,_ don't let it be true! H-he didn't want . . . he didn't want to be alone! He didn't know what to do! Did he want to go searching for her? B-but she had asked him to stay here, th-that was what she had said right? But what if she was in trouble?

Kawaii felt the tears flow from his eyes, if she _was _in trouble there was nothing he could do! H-he had thought he could use his brain since he couldn't use his body, but . . . h-he had been in danger so long and hadn't realized it. If he had been kept as a hostage, he would have been _killed_! How could he call himself smart when . . .

There was no stopping the tears. Kawaii couldn't use his body, and his mind was clearly damaged. How could he help anyone? Kawaii felt the tears flow from his eyes, he was . . . he was worse than useless. He was a _hindrance_, a _liability_, he was the one no one had any faith in and no matter what he tried he only proved them right. The woman would be right to leave him, Kawaii was nothing worth saving.

"Sorry Kawaii" Kawaii turned around fast, his heart singing out in relief as the woman walked into view, a kind smile on her face. She walked over to him, and Kawaii gave a huge sigh of relief. The woman smiled at Kawaii before sitting down next to him.

"I had a few things to take care of." Kawaii nodded, he wasn't going to let himself take all of her time. For a bit of time the two of them just sat there, watching the city. Then the woman spoke to Kawaii. "So Kawaii, you really surprised me when you stated someone was in the bush. Did you hear them?"

Kawaii smiled at her. "Yeah, then I used this really cool dojutsu I have! I-I only just found out about it, I-I'm an orphan. I was going to tell my team all about it, but . . . then we just started walking. I-I don't even know what the mission was. I was really getting flustered because I wanted to talk about it to everyone."

The woman gave Kawaii a sympathetic smile. "Ah, an orphan. Well, you sound excited about your dojutsu. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Kawaii's eyes lit up with glee as he recounted all of the tests he and Jiraiya had done. The woman listened, and made observations such as when he explained about the penetrating vision and the zoom-zoom thing. By the end of it, the woman smiled at Kawaii. "Wow, you really are something Kawaii. That's really cool! My friends and I are looking for a young boy that's somewhere in this city. From our understanding, he's been kidnapped by other ninja. We're trying to help rescue him."

Kawaii listened with wide eyes. "K-kidnapped?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. His father did something really mean to him. During a fake hostage situation his father killed a fake of him. The boy's mother is horrified, and is desperately trying to find her son. I can't even imagine what it's like for the poor boy."

"Then we _have_ to help him!" Kawaii was dead-determined now. This person was so similar to what had just happened to Kawaii . . . h-he must feel as bad as Kawaii did! Kawaii didn't see the little gleam that appeared in the woman's eyes as he immediately asked what he had to do to help.

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><p>Oh my. Poor Kawaii's naivity is being taken advantage of! Will the woman's plans work out the way she wants them too, or has she made a miscalculation somewhere?<p> 


	18. Minor Setbacks

Sorry for the short length of this chapter, I may have to do a redo of it when I'm more well-rested. I'll keep the author's note for this one short and sweet.

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><p>Suki gave Kawaii a smile as the two of them traveled through her lair. So they had chosen to hide the kid in one of the shops, and they had certainly chosen a good hiding place. Suki and her group would never have looked there. Kawaii had given them the information they needed, and as the two of them walked around down there, Kawaii was about to get his 'reward'.<p>

Kawaii was clearly excited. She had made certain to let little details 'slip' so Kawaii would think he was getting a pet. "Is it a pet seal? I like seals!"

Suki smiled, although she was almost reeling in shock at Kawaii's stupidity. A _seal_? That just wasn't . . . "No, it's not a seal. It's something _really_ special!"

Kawaii's eyes lit up. "So it's a walrus? They're cool too!"

Suki almost slipped, but she managed to keep her emotions under control. "Maybe! You'll find out soon!" As they reached the area Kawaii's surprise was in Suki smiled. She was _this_ close to feeling bad about this. "It's right in this room here."

She pointed to a room, and Kawaii quickly shuffled over to that door. When Suki opened the door Kawaii quickly hobbled into the room as fast as he could. She told him where it was, and as Kawaii got out of the doorway Suki closed and locked the door.

"Hey, what . . . this doesn't look like a walrus. I-it's cute, don't get me wrong but . . . that way it's looking at me is kind of . . ." Suki chuckled as she walked away from the room, of _course_ it didn't look like a walrus. It was an exotic creature that came from far away . . . what had the salesperson called it . . . a komodo dragon?

Suki grinned. While she wasn't an animal person herself, this komodo dragon hadn't eaten in days. Right now Kawaii was probably attempting to nurse a wound, but the diseased-filled saliva of the dragon would take its toll soon. Right now Suki had other things to do, she'd clean up the mess later.

About five minutes later Suki walked into the shop, a grin on her face as her cronies drew out their weapons. The shopper looked horrified, and Suki grinned as she formed a single hand-sign. "_Release!_"

The shopper's form flickered, and soon re-formed into the peddler's son. Higaisha paled and attempted to back away from them. Suki simply chuckled as Higaisha spoke, his voice trembling. "B-but how?"

As she gave the signal to move in Suki wore a cruel grin on her face. "I called in a few favors. Now Higaisha, you're coming with us."

Her group all began to advance. Suki turned, they'd get him . . . _what in the_ . . . no, her eyes had to be lying to her! But as she heard cries of shock from behind her, she knew that they were seeing the same thing. "_**Kawaii?**_"

It was Kawaii. He was riding on the back of the komodo dragon, looking at Suki and her group with a smile. The komodo dragon had its tail wrapped around Kawaii's waist, supporting his mainly-limp body. "Hi! Just so you know, you may want to fix that door. I wasn't able to get it open after you closed it."

Suki just . . . she couldn't believe it. Kawaii had _tamed_ the komodo dragon? But that thing was _uncontrollable!_ It had never failed to dispose of an opponent before, and they had _trained_ it to be highly skilled at fighting! She just . . . "But how?"

Kawaii smiled at Suki. She quickly regained her composure, so even narrowly avoiding an obvious attempt at his life Kawaii still believed it must have been an accident. As Kawaii spoke, Suki walked over to him. "Well, I was standing there-you know, after you closed the door and it inexplicably locked. I gulped, I thought that any second I was going to be 'omn nom nom'd' by Fluffy. I was SUPER lucky though, and inst-"

Suki didn't even let Kawaii finish the sentence. She had made certain to put on a show, a kind smile as she walked over. But the instant Kawaii was within striking range, Suki whipped her leg around with a powerful burst of chakra. Kawaii's eyes opened wide a moment before the kick connected with his head, yanking him out of the Komodo dragon's grip and sending him flying into the side of a building.

Kawaii was knocked out from the kick, and he fell limply to the ground. Suki grinned as she bound and gagged Kawaii. "Naïve little fool. Alright, tie up the Higaisha, he's coming with us."

It didn't take long before the group was walking away, both Kawaii and the peddler's son, Higaisha, in their grasp. Once they were out of the city, the crony closest to Suki looked at her. "That was cold. Now he's _definitely_ going to have a fear of being abandoned."

Suki laughed at that. "No matter, I'll deal with him later. First up, we have to make our demands to the peddler. I assume the new guards have already been taken care of, as we planned?"

The crony frowned. "Actually, we're not sure. The group sent to deal with them never came back." Suki frowned at that, but didn't push for more information because she knew her crony didn't know. So there was a chance Baransu and his two squad members were still alive . . .

The trip back to their base didn't take long, and as the other people tossed Higaisha into one cell Suki tossed Kawaii into the adjacent one. She would have loved to stay down here and taunt Kawaii, but she had her own things she needed to do. Fortunately, a different crony volunteered to stay behind and 'explain' to Kawaii what had happened.

With a grin on her face Suki led her other cronies up out of their base's dungeon. "We should pay a visit to the peddler and make our demands."

The cronies gave a grin, but one of them suddenly frowned. "So where's the komodo dragon?" Suki shrugged, she couldn't care less. It wasn't like one overgrown lizard was going to make a difference. The peddler's gold was as good as theirs.

But as they reached the entrance, Suki and her cronies stopped cold at the sight of Baransu, Surudoi, and Supaiku, _all_ of them wielding weapons. Suki couldn't believe it, how had they known the base was here!

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><p>What a SHOCK! Kawaii and the peddler's son (Higaisha) have been captured by Suki (the woman)! Will Baransu, Surudoi, and Supaiku manage to save him? WILL THEY? And what about Kawaii? After he wakes up, how will he react to the knowledge that he was used and tossed aside?<p> 


	19. The Cute Demon

My GOD, it's another chapter! Can it really be true, has thetimetel finally gotten off of his lazy hindquarters and WRITTEN some more? Well okay, that's PARTIALLY true. I actually did all of this sitting down.

So, not to change the subject away from my own laziness, but . . . here you go!

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><p>Higaisha gulped, he was frightened. This was all so <em>sudden<em>, how had they found him? Did it have something to do with the kid in the cell next to Higaisha? The poor kid, he was _attacked_ by this group's leader when it was so clear that he had trusted her. Higaisha wondered . . . Kawaii . . . where had he heard that name before? Kawaii . . . Kawaii . . . ugh, it was no use. He couldn't remember.

The first thing Higaisha needed to do was escape. Ok, what could he do? The only window was way too high up for him to reach and had bars on them. The bars surrounding him were far too strong to break or bend, and there was a guard watching Kawaii for when he would wake up.

Higaisha flinched when the guard looked at him. "I hope they hurry up, this is boring as hell. It shouldn't take long for them to convince your father to listen. So you won't be here that long. As such, what point would there be in trying to escape?" The guard gave a slight smirk, which got Higaisha to shudder.

Both of them turned to face Kawaii when he spoke. He wasn't even bothering to get up from the laying position he was in, all he moved was his head to look at the guard. "What . . . what's going on? Where's Suki, why . . . why did she . . ."

The guard grinned cruelly. "You _still_ can't tell? Here, let me give you a hint. Remember the creature, remember how the door shut after you entered? Yet it never struck you as strange that Suki wouldn't try to help? Do you know _why_ she didn't help? It's because you weren't supposed to leave that room _alive_."

Higaisha could _feel_ the horror radiating from Kawaii. "Sh-she . . . b-but she _cared_ about me, she _saved_ me from . . ."

The guard laughed. "You just don't get it, do you? Suki is our leader. Do you know who that boy there is? Do you even _know_ what your mission was supposed to be? You were supposed to escort this boy and his father to the Village of Chains! He wasn't kidnapped until _you_ so conveniently used the only thing you have-your _eyes_-and saw through the genjutsu! We should be thanking you, _Kawaii_. We couldn't have done it without you."

Kawaii now had tears flowing from his eyes as he looked at the man. "B-but . . . that-she said . . . she said he was kidnapped and that she was going to rescue him! Sh-she . . . I _meant_ something to her!"

Clearly amused, the guard chuckled. "She never cared about you. The only reason she paid any attention to you at all is because of your dojutsu. You know what we're going to do now? When this is over, she's going to take your eyes for herself. That's the only thing keeping you alive right now. Why would someone as great as our leader care about a _**cripple?**_"

Kawaii shuddered at the word, and the man laughed. "So you think you have any use? You can move a total of one limb at a time. You can't fight. You are stupid, and believe everything you hear. So your mind is useless. I have no idea how you got onto a squad, but even then look at what happened. Your squad leader saw you being used as a hostage, and what did he do?"

Kawaii suddenly stopped shuddering, his face hidden from view. The guard laughed. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you. What did your leader do? I want to hear _you_ say it."

"Too bad." Both the guard and Higaisha frowned. Before, Kawaii was crying. When he said that though . . . his voice was completely calm, and there was a strange element to it that Higaisha couldn't place.

The guard frowned as he looked at Kawaii, and his voice told Higaisha that the guard was as confused as Higaisha. "Fine, I'll say it. He sliced you in half. He would have _killed_ you."

Kawaii was silent for a bit, but then . . . it began with a small, cruel chuckle that grew into almost _demonic_ laughter. Kawaii looked up at them, and the look on his face . . . it scared Higaisha. Something _big_ had just happened, this wasn't the look of the horrified boy Higaisha had seen mere seconds ago. This was the gaze of someone that enjoyed watching others in pain, this one-

Kawaii's pupils contracted, and hundreds of pictures ran through Higaisha's head. Pictures of people being tortured, screaming for mercy. Kawaii was in each picture overlooking the victims, his red-orange eyes glowing with demonic glee as he chuckled, often intensifying the victim's torture. When it was over, Higaisha was paralyzed with fear.

He could barely turn to look at the guard, who was just as terrified. "_What the __**hell**__ are you? What the hell was that? G-genjutsu! That must be it!_"

Kawaii chuckled cruelly as something moved in his shirt, stretching the back of it. "That? You foolish moron, that was your _future_. So I'm useless? Well, I can do something you can't. Watch carefully, because this will be the last thing you ever see."

With two loud rips his shirt tore, and Higaisha's eyes went wide as a pair of . . . as a pair of insect wings continued to grow. They began to flutter, and Higaisha and the guard watched in horror as Kawaii began lifting up off of the ground, soon landing on his feet. He continued to stare at the ground, but when Kawaii looked up at the guard the guard began shuddering violently.

Kawaii didn't take his eyes off of the guard, the guard only shuddered more and more, then . . . Higaisha shivered as the guard suddenly got in the fetal position, babbling to himself. "_What have we done, we angered a demon! This can't be a child, this can't be __**human!**__ Is that really my future? N-no, I refuse to go through that!_"

Higaisha paled as the man grabbed out a kunai and stabbed himself in the chest. Kawaii chuckled cruelly as the man fell over, dead. "A ninja must see through deception. That wasn't your future, obvious because it now will never happen. Pity too, that would have made for a good time."

H-had Kawaii just tricked the man into committing _suicide_? Kawaii chuckled again before raising a limp hand, 'pointing' it at the door. "Open says _me_."

Higaisha paled as what appeared to be green flames flew out from Kawaii's arm, slamming into his cell door. The cell door didn't open. It flew off of its hinges and embedded into the wall on the other side of the room. Kawaii grinned before slowly turning to look in Higaisha's general direction. "If you don't want to see more torture, don't make eye-contact with me."

Higaisha looked down at Kawaii's feet, still shivering in fear. He heard a slight chuckle from Kawaii. "Now Higaisha, it's time to undo the damage I have caused."

Higaisha flinched as the wind rushed past his face, and when he looked up he was shocked to find his cell . . . well, was no longer a cell. He could leave easily, through the massive gap in the bars caused by the other bars now being embedded into the wall to his right. As he heard shuffling footsteps, he saw Kawaii-insect wings still out-shuffling out of his cell.

He clearly was still the cruel person Higaisha had just seen force a man to commit suicide, but . . . well he also was the way out. Higaisha nodded to himself and against his better judgment he followed behind the strange person. He had no idea how he mustered up the courage to ask what Kawaii was, but to his relief Kawaii chuckled. "The jinchūriki of Nanabi. Make of that what you will, Higaisha. As you do, I shall teach this band of bastards just what happens when you fuck with the little guy."

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><p>Uh-oh. Somebody's pissed. I guess he can get angry after all . . . or is there more to this than that?<p> 


	20. The Wrath of Kawaii

Hi! Sorry for taking so long, I wasn't certain how I wanted this part here to work. It may change, but for now this will do.

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><p>Supaiku glared at the woman before him, so <em>this<em> was the person that had kidnapped Higaisha? As he, Surudoi, and Baransu braced for Suki and her cronies to attack, the peddler demanded to know where his son was. Suki grinned cruelly before pointing back to the base. "The only way you're getting him is if we get all of your money. Now hand it over, or you're not getting your son back."

The man gulped, but Baransu chuckled, deeply startling everyone else. "What makes you say that? You've already _made_ your mistake Suki Akuma."

Suki frowned at Baransu. "And just what is that?"

Baransu's grin only grew. "You kidnapped Kawaii. Kawaii is in there right now. _That_ is your mistake."

Suki only laughed again. "_Mistake?_ Are you saying that he always betrays whichever side he believes he's on? While that's true, Kawaii's not _on_ our side anymore. He did his job well, but I can do the job better so long as I have this precious dojutsu of his."

Suki laughed at them, getting Supaiku to gnash his teeth. He couldn't even imagine how horrified Kawaii felt right now! This evil _bitch_ had actually manipulated Kawaii into helping them out! To Supaiku's shock Baransu merely chuckled before he spoke. "Don't you get it? Kawaii is crippled with a severe motor deficiency. Doesn't it strike you as _strange_ that he's on a squad in the first place?"

Suki shrugged, but before Supaiku could strangle her Baransu spoke again. "As these two have informed me, Kawaii has a very interesting mind. When he needs to, he pulls out an astounding plan that never fails to succeed."

Suki chuckled, but each and every person turned to look at the base's entrance when a scream was heard. A person ran out of the base and went over to Suki, who looked at them curiously. "What?"

"_Th-that kid's not human! W-we've pissed off a MONSTER!_"

Everyone's eyes opened wide as a cruel voice filled the air. "Suki Akuma."

It sounded like Kawaii's, but . . . there was something different. This voice was deceptively calm, yet there was a strange malevolence hidden deep underneath it. No, this couldn't be Kawaii's voice. He was too kind of a person. Whoever's voice it was, they spoke again. "We are a lot alike, you and I."

That's when the footsteps began. They were Kawaii's. It had that strange shuffling noise his feet made every time he moved. The footsteps echoed out of the base's entrance, and soon Supaiku felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Kawaii walked into view.

It was Kawaii, but . . . it _couldn't_ be Kawaii. His red eyes practically glowed with malevolence as a strange green aura enshrouded him. Two insect wings were coming from his clothes, and he gave a cruel chuckle as he stumbled closer and closer.

Supaiku gulped, what . . . "Kawaii?"

Kawaii focused his eyes on Supaiku, and Supaiku felt . . . _rage_. That was it, rage. These eyes were of someone that enjoyed torturing others, someone that would take pride in the idea that one of his sick, twisted ideas resulted in someone pleading for a mercy they would never receive. Then Kawaii's pupils contracted.

What was going on, why did the sky turn blood-red? Supaiku saw blood, corpses . . . the corpses of his entire clan, his own corpse . . . he heard his clan scream for mercy as Kawaii tortured them, demanding they beg like the cowards they were . . . Supaiku saw Kawaii walking over to him from the direction of the tortured, free of his motor deficiency and a spear made of earth in his hands.

"_Do you know what every story needs? Conflict. It's not a good story unless there's a problem, unless someone is hurt. Romance has a very interesting way of creating this pain. Perhaps you are familiar with the phrase 'You've stolen my heart'? Well, you can forget the romance. I'm not interested at the moment. But the stolen heart . . . well, let's give that a try._"

Kawaii chuckled as he went to impale Supaiku with the staff. But then . . . everything changed, Supaiku suddenly found himself back by the base. He fell into a sitting position, panting heavily. _What the hell just happened?_

He was shocked when he heard Surudoi's voice, sounding half-amused and half scared-out-of-her-mind. "Supaiku? What happened? Kawaii glared at you for about five seconds and you're sweating with fear?"

Supaiku shook his head, what was that? "Was that . . . genjutsu? What . . . Kawaii, what . . . what was that?"

Kawaii chuckled cruelly before he answered. "Genjutsu? No, that was a warning. That was your future, that-"

Baransu shook his head. "No, that wasn't. I've heard of that before. It's a special technique that requires the user to have a very powerful lust for blood. It's quite simply sending a bit of that lust for blood to the victim, causing them to see what the perpetrator wants to do."

Kawaii gave a slight smirk as he leaned heavily against the side of the base. "Very good Baransu, looks like you have a brain after all. If all that idiotic shit you did before was just a façade, well . . . you _certainly_ fooled me. Now though? It's been entirely too long since I've seen someone tortured."

Kawaii closed his eyes before he turned to face Suki, who was completely pale. "What the hell are you? How do you have insect wings, how-"

"_Murderous intent: Sight of the Reaper!_"

Kawaii's eyes flashed green at the same time that Suki's eyes did. Kawaii sighed as Suki dropped limply to the ground. One of her cronies dashed up to her and checked her for a pulse before looking at Kawaii in shock and fear. "Sh-she's dead! H-how . . . h-how can this be? W-what . . . _how?_"

Kawaii chuckled before he raised a limp hand, 'pointing' his arm at Suki's cronies. "Ask her yourself. Tell the devil I said hello."

The strange green aura surrounding Kawaii intensified, and to Supaiku's shock a large blast of the green aura shot out from Kawaii's arm, and . . . it was hard to follow, wind whipped past Supaiku and forced him to cover his eyes as it whipped up dust. When they could finally see again Supaiku, Surudoi, Baransu, and the peddler were shocked.

Where the cronies had been, skeletons now lied on the ground. Whatever Kawaii had just done, it had only left behind the bones of his enemies. And now Kawaii was raising an arm towards them. "You deserve so much worse than this, Baransu."

The peddler immediately spoke up. "What about me? I'm just standing here!"

Kawaii grinned cruelly before he chuckled. "How unfortunate for you."

"_Stop Kawaii!_"

Every head turned towards the entrance of the base, going wide-eyed as Higaisha dashed into view and got between Kawaii and the group. "Stop! That's my father you're trying to kill!"

Kawaii flinched as he lowered his hand. "Higaisha? I got you out of the base and you just throw your life away? I don't understand. Why would you get in the way?"

Higaisha gulped, but didn't move. Kawaii frowned as he looked intently at Higaisha. "You don't understand the situation Higaisha. Baransu _betrayed_ me. If Suki hadn't thought of that water-clone trick then I wouldn't be here now."

Higaisha spoke quickly, clearly worried for his well-being. "You know better than any of us just how Suki manipulates others! How do you know it wasn't Suki that made Baransu betray you?"

Kawaii's eyes went wide. "That's true . . . how can I be certain? How-_ugh!_"

Kawaii gasped as the bizarre green aura disappeared and the insect wings retracted. For just a moment Kawaii stood there wide-eyed then . . . he just collapsed. Supaiku gulped, but as they waited Kawaii didn't move. He was still breathing, had he just gone unconscious? "What just . . . how could that have been Kawaii?"

"It wasn't."

Everyone turned to look at Baransu, who wiped sweat off of his brow. "Perhaps Nanabi's not brain-dead after all . . . we'll need to talk to the Rensakage about this. I knew Kawaii would find a way out of that, but I didn't know it would be like _that_."

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><p>What the hell just happened? Why did<em> Kawaii<em> of all people go on a rant? What will happen when he wakes up? Perhaps some of these questions shall be answered in the next chapter? Who knows, maybe _all_ of them will be!


	21. The Second First Impression

Second chapter today! I would have liked it to be longer, but . . . well, I may have to re-write it some other time. Without further ado, I give you the next chapter!

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><p>Ugh, what . . . what just happened? Owie, Kawaii's head hurt <em>really<em> badly! Let's see . . . there was . . . that one guy . . . who had been saying those bad things to Kawaii . . . then . . . uhm . . . well, he was . . . here? Kawaii groaned as he opened his eyes, flinching when he saw the sky. How had he gotten outside?

"Hey, he's awake!"

Kawaii turned his head and he felt joy and dread in his heart when he saw Baransu, Supaiku, Surudoi, some old man, and the young boy that he was tricked into finding. They all were looking at him weirdly, and Kawaii blushed as he remembered what he had done. "H-hi. What . . . uh . . . I can explain!"

Baransu raised an eyebrow, a smirk appearing on his face. Everyone else flinched as Baransu spoke. "I _very_ highly doubt that. Alright though, fire away."

Kawaii gulped. Would he be _able _to explain why he had . . . well, he had to try. "W-well, I uh . . . I . . . I-I'm really sorry, I-I didn't mean to do it! I-I didn't know he was the person we were supposed to be helping, Suki told me that he was kidnapped and she was going to save him and that they needed my help to-"

Baransu raised a hand and Kawaii stopped speaking. Supaiku was giving Surudoi a really confused look and soon spoke to Kawaii. "What are you talking about?"

Kawaii gulped as his face flushed with shame. He was so embarrassed, how could he have been _tricked_ like that? "S-Suki told me that she needed me to look for a young boy, she showed me a drawing of him. I-I thought that he was kidnapped, so . . . I helped her. I-I wouldn't have done it if I had known! I-I'm so sorry . . . uhm . . ."

Kawaii frowned, what was the boy's name? "I-I'm sorry, I . . . I don't know your name."

The boy flinched before he looked at Kawaii like he was crazy. Kawaii didn't blame the boy, Kawaii _had_ done a really bad thing to him . . . he was so ashamed! H-he didn't _mean_ to do it! Suki really scared him, how could someone _lie_ like that? I-it was so mean! Why . . . a-and he actually _did_ . . . Kawaii felt the tears begin to flow.

"I don't think he remembers . . ."

Kawaii looked up to see Supaiku talking to the boy. Baransu cleared his throat and Kawaii waited for the yelling. "Kawaii, look. What happened before with those water clones, I uh . . . I actually _knew_ it wasn't the real you because I _saw_ the clones forming. I was _lying_ to the man."

_Oh!_ Kawaii immediately looked up in shock. "S-so if that wasn't me, then you wouldn't have done it?"

Baransu gave a slight smile as he replied. "Of course I wouldn't have. Just because you piss me off doesn't mean I'm going to kill you. As for Suki tricking you . . . well . . . you did more to correct that then you know."

Kawaii cocked his head, what did he mean by that? Oh, well. "S-so . . . I-I guess this is . . . going to be my last mission?"

Baransu shook his head, clearly amused. "Yep, he's back to normal. Look Kawaii, you're not in trouble. Accidents happen, and no one told us we were going against Suki. If I had known that I would have _warned_ you beforehand that Suki is a manipulator."

Kawaii cocked his head. "What's a Man-nip-you-later? Is that a way of saying goodbye?"

Baransu chuckled as he shook his head. "That she lies."

Kawaii flinched. "B-but why? Lies aren't true, why would she say them? It only hurts people!"

Supaiku and Surudoi both burst out laughing, getting Kawaii to flinch. "What's so funny?"

They shook their heads, and soon Kawaii sighed. "Well . . . thanks for saving me. I-I _am_ really sorry about that."

Even the man, who must have been the boy's daddy, said that he understood. "Suki's the type of woman that . . . well, I like her better dead."

Kawaii flinched at that. "She's dead? I-I guess that's the right thing to do and all but . . . i-isn't that a little mean? I . . ."

As he was speaking Kawaii forced himself to sit up. He was surprised when he looked behind him and found a large number of skeletons on the ground. How . . . _oh!_ "Is it Halloween already? No, I . . . she must have decorated _really_ early for it. I guess she must really like Halloween. Is that the reason she tricks people?"

Kawaii flinched as Baransu burst out laughing. "_You little MORON!_ Oh, I can't _believe_ how naïve you are!"

Oh. "So it . . . _is_ Halloween? I-I thought that was still some time off."

Huh, maybe . . . then again, this _was_ a different village. Maybe they celebrated Halloween at a different time? Maybe they could go trick-or-treating before they left! Or maybe-

Kawaii flinched as he felt a tail easily lift him off the ground, but smiled as he saw the lizard-like face that belonged to the thing holding him. "Hi Fluffy!"

Kawaii was certain Fluffy smiled as he set Kawaii on his back, helping Kawaii move his legs and then holding him upright. Baransu had a look of amusement in his eyes as he shook his head again. "I should have known. This little guy brought us here to find you, I guess he must have wanted to help you out Kawaii."

Kawaii was elated, Fluffy helped him! "Thank you Fluffy! Oh, who's a good walrus? You are!"

"_**WALRUS!**_ That's not a-"

Kawaii looked up to see Surudoi covering Supaiku's mouth. She sighed before she spoke. "Kawaii, what makes you think that's a walrus?"

Oh, that was easy. "Suki said she had a surprise. When I asked if it was a walrus she said 'maybe', so when I was suddenly put into a room along with Fluffy here . . . well, what else _could_ he be?"

Surudoi brought a hand to her head. "Ok, and the fact that he has _feet_? What about no tusks, or the tail that's currently wrapped around your waist? Not only that, he's a _lizard_. Walruses are _mammals_."

Kawaii shrugged. "I think he's a new type."

Supaiku managed to get Surudoi's hand away from his mouth. "Ok, so the reason you think that the lizard you are on right now is a walrus because _Suki_ mentioned that it _MIGHT _be?"

Kawaii nodded. "It was really nice of her! Maybe she secretly felt bad inside that she had tricked me, so she wanted to give me Fluffy."

Baransu sighed as he shook his head. "Okay, you know what? It's a walrus, I can live with that. Let's just get going before we give him _another_ thing to misunderstand."

The group agreed, although Kawaii wasn't certain who 'he' was. Maybe the man's son was just a little naïve? Oh well.

Soon the group was walking out of the city, Kawaii riding on Fluffy's back. He was a little worried about what the Rensakage would say about his . . . uhm . . . betrayal. Hopefully she'd understand that he really didn't mean to do it, he was still really embarrassed about what had happened.

Hopefully he'd be able to still be a ninja. He hadn't even gotten to do any of the _fun_ stuff yet, like playing spy or-or . . . well ok, not really _fight_ anyone, but . . . well, there was more than that. It was probably a good thing that he hadn't fought anyone yet, he really didn't have any way to defend himself.

Still, he felt like he was . . . _forgetting_ something . . . oh! "Wait! What about the trick-or-treating, didn't you say that was tonight? I wanted to go trick-or-treating, even though I haven't picked out a costume yet. I-I thought it was still some time off, b-but I can still find a costume in time!"

Baransu looked back at Kawaii with amusement. "It's not Halloween. You're safe kid."

Really? Wow, Suki must have really liked Halloween then. It was strange though, why hadn't she made Jack-O-Lanterns? They were kind of scary yeah, but so were skeletons . . . oh, well. He'd never know now that she was dead. Hmm . . . he wondered. What happened to her body?

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><p>YAY! Kawaii's back to normal! More shenanigans! WOOHOO! Again, sorry for the short length. It was just . . . not much happened in this chapter, so I couldn't really make it that long. I may work a bit more on it and upload a better version of this chapter later, but for now it will do.<p> 


	22. Concluding Part 1

I can't believe it, after all of this time I actually reached this point. The end of the first part, I don't BELIEVE it! While I may have to edit in some more chapters or edit some of the current ones to make more sense, I am pretty much done with the first part. Next up . . . well, read the chapter.

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><p>The Rensakage smiled at Kawaii as she agreed with Baransu that it wasn't Kawaii's fault. She let him off with a warning to be more careful then dismissed the group. Once Kawaii, Supaiku, Surudoi, Higaisha, and the peddler were out of the room the Rensakage slumped back in her chair. She couldn't believe it. "<em>Nanabi<em> took over? _How?_ I can't believe this!"

Baransu nodded. "Kawaii went into a two-tailed state, and his entire personality changed. He became what I could only describe as a sadist, and he gained a lust for blood that was so powerful he was capable of a prolonged Killer's Intent. He was good enough to even _kill_ Suki with some strange variation of it."

The Rensakage leaned forwards. "But this doesn't make any sense. Nanabi's still brain-dead, and you're telling me she not only wrested control of his body from him, she also was capable of _speech_? This is _impossible_, she shouldn't be able to _think_ at the moment!"

As the Rensakage tried to put it all together Baransu cleared his throat. "If I may, I noticed that Kawaii still responded to his name, and spoke about himself as if it really was Kawaii. Could it be that Nanabi's rage overpowered him? When he had no more reason to be angry, he _did _revert almost immediately."

The Rensakage shook her head. "No, if it was like that then he would have killed Higaisha as well as you. I just . . . this makes no sense, could Nanabi have somehow recovered after all of this time? You also stated that he used her chakra, right?"

Baransu nodded, and the Rensakage gulped. "The closest I can come up to is that Nanabi somehow regained some of her chakra. Perhaps Kawaii gave some of it back to her out of pity, and that little bit allowed her to begin the process of healing. I just . . . this is _insane_. Nanabi's awake . . . we're going to have to keep an eye on Kawaii for a bit. I also want to have him taught how to _use _her chakra, so he won't be entirely defenseless if his life is threatened."

Baransu frowned, but didn't complain. While the two of them continued to attempt to figure it out for a little longer, neither could come up with a reason Kawaii would suddenly become so cruel, then abruptly change back with no memory of his actions. Eventually the Rensakage decided she'd figure that out later. For right now . . . "So how were Supaiku and Surudoi?"

Baransu gave a slight grin. "Let's put it this way. You have _no_ idea how glad I was when we finally found Kawaii. They behave themselves when they need to, but . . . _god_, that _bickering_ . . . I had no idea just how much Kawaii's presence calmed them down."

The Rensakage grinned, she thought as much. "Quite true. He has that effect on people. For right now, your squad's on break for a few days."

Baransu nodded then looked out of the window behind the Rensakage. "Hmm?"

The Rensakage turned around and grinned as she realized what Baransu was looking at. "Yes, they got done repairing the Academy today. If I had known that the two clans would warm up to each other so quickly by working on repairing a building . . . well, I'm quite relieved that this feud's getting fixed. Natichi's funeral is in two days, and the leaders of the Kusarigama clan and the Surujin clan both have their speeches ready. For now at least, I believe we don't have to worry about them."

With a sigh the Rensakage got up. She felt a small grin come to her face. At the very least the big issues had been dealt with for now. She was surprised when Baransu cleared his throat. "Lady Rensakage . . . I noticed that the last mission we were on . . . that wasn't a D-ranked mission. Why exactly did you give it to us?"

The Rensakage grinned, so he _had_ noticed. "Simple. That was a C-ranked mission. Do you know what the Village hidden in the Leaves is hosting in six months?"

Baransu looked completely shocked, but the Rensakage grinned wider. "The Chūnin exams. As much as we like to deny it, the Kusarigama clan and the Surujin clans are the strongest ones in the village. And Kawaii . . . well as we now know, he's hard to cross but when you do, he's a force to be reckoned with. I believe he should get to see more of the world. He's been very excited about being a ninja. I sent you on a C-ranked mission because I _know_ your group is more than capable of doing them. Though we _do_ have to work on Kawaii's naivety a bit, I believe he redeems himself well even when he makes a mistake."

Baransu looked quite shocked, but didn't deny it. He actually grinned as he nodded, and soon he went off to do something. The Rensakage sighed again. She still was baffled by the thought that Kawaii could have lost his temper . . . normally, it was like he _couldn't_ feel anger.

Then again, he certainly could feel sorrow. He had seemed really depressed when he had been in the room. Hmm . . . did he still blame himself for Suki's manipulation? Perhaps he needed someone to go and cheer him up. The Rensakage grinned as she exited her room. It was time to help Kawaii get the peace of mind he had managed to give her.

The Rensakage soon was searching for Kawaii, and almost smiled as she found him on the top of the building, his pet 'walrus' sitting next to him as he pointed out clouds. The Rensakage grinned as she climbed the rest of the way, and it wasn't long until she was standing next to Kawaii, helping him point out different clouds.

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><p>Now let me explain. After this part, there is about a six-month time-skip. Do you know what that means? That's right, Chunin exam here comes Kawaii!<p>

Well okay, _eventually_. First up I want to have some fun, so there will be quite a few chapters (possibly) devoted to Kawaii's group meeting and mingling with people from the Naruto plot-line.

Now if I haven't already explained this, Kawaii Akuma's plot-line WILL intervene with the real plot. While the changes are going to be as minimal as I can make them, they're going to mainly show up during the Chunin exam times. However, I also want to have parts where some key events are shown to be _caused_ by Kawaii and his group. Many of these will be comical, so don't take them too seriously.

BTW, am I doing a good job so far? While part of the reason I am making stories here is for fun, it's also to improve my own writing skills. If there's something you're not understanding, don't be shy about it: someone else probably has your same question. However, try to understand that specific events, such as Kawaii's interactions with Nanabi so far, are MADE to have some holes in it. There IS a reason for it.

So, just to recap: The first part is over, thank you for your time, please take the time to let me know how I'm doing and if there's areas I need to improve, or areas that I just completely lost you. See you in part two!


	23. What A Drag

Hello!

It's been a while since I've posted something for Kawaii's story, hasn't it? I bet you thought I'd stopped working on it. But in that time, I think my writing style has DRASTICALLY improved.

It has been six months, and the Chunin exams are almost ready to start. Now let's get to what you are REALLY here for: the story!

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><p>"Are we there yet?"<p>

Kawaii looked at Baransu excitedly. As Baransu chuckled Kawaii turned to face Supaiku and Surudoi, eagerly waiting for someone to tell him whether they were there yet. He was so excited! He had never seen one of the other ninja villages before! Maybe he could make a bunch of new friends there? Of course Kawaii didn't know _why_ they were going there, but he was still _really_ excited!

It seemed to take forever for Kawaii to get a response. The response itself was from Baransu, who had a small smile on his face. "It won't be much longer, Kawaii. We're nearly there."

Kawaii immediately cheered. Unfortunately, he also leaned backwards a bit too much. That of course caused him to start falling backwards with no way to get his balance back. Fortunately for him Fluffy immediately noticed that Kawaii had lost his balance, and Kawaii gave a relieved sigh as he felt Fluffy's tail wrap around his waist. He let himself hang limply as Fluffy lifted him off of the ground and neatly set Kawaii on her back.

With a big thanks to Fluffy, Kawaii began rubbing his limp hand against the top of Fluffy's head. It was the closest he could get to petting her, and as Fluffy gave a happy grunt to Kawaii she returned his care by gently rubbing his hair with the tip of her tail. Kawaii _loved_ to ride on Fluffy's back, and she was such a nice walrus! The two of them had become really good friends during the last six months, and it was to the point that it was almost impossible to separate them. "Do you hear that Fluffy? Just a little longer and we'll get to make a _lot _of friends!"

Fluffy gave another friendly grunt to Kawaii in reply. As Kawaii heard both Supaiku and Surudoi laugh he turned his attention to some of the many nearby trees. "Okay, so it's the village hidden in the leaves right? We have to check every tree to make certain we don't miss it. Okay . . ."

Baransu suddenly laughed about something, which took Kawaii's attention off of the trees again. "It's just a name Kawaii. The village isn't _really_ hidden in the leaves, so this path will take us right to it. They chose that name for the same reason our own village is the Hidden Chain Village. They just thought it sounds cool."

_Oh!_ Kawaii was surprised at that, but it still made sense. While he didn't think the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves' sounded all that cool he wasn't going to try to start an argument about it. He didn't like it when people shouted at each other.

Kawaii's attention was diverted from the naming problem when he suddenly heard his tummy growl. He felt his face turn red as he tried to look down at his tummy. It had been a few hours since they last ate, hadn't it? Maybe once they reached the Hidden Leaf Village they could go to a curry shop? Kawaii _loved_ to eat curry! Of course if Surudoi, Supaiku, or Baransu wanted something else then that was okay too. Kawaii wasn't going to try to make them go to the curry place just because he wanted to have curry.

It seemed to take forever and a half, but eventually a very, very, _very_ big wall came into sight. Kawaii could only say _'whoa'_ as he looked at the super amazing wall. After a bit more laughter from Surudoi, Supaiku, and Baransu the four of them walked closer to the wall, and Kawaii soon said '_whoa_' again as he saw a _really_ big door that was on the wall. He could only smile when Surudoi, Supaiku, and Baransu all chuckled again. Of course Kawaii didn't know _why_ they kept on laughing, but he was okay with that. He had learned quickly that his group liked to laugh a lot.

Instead, Kawaii was more focused on the fact that the super-big door was _open_. It just stood there wide open. The streets of the village were quite clearly visible from the doorway. This looked really bad, why would they leave such an important door wide open? As Kawaii's group walked up to the door Kawaii felt like he had to say _something_. It looked like his teammates planned to rudely walk into the village without doing what Kawaii knew _everyone_ should do before entering a doorway. "Shouldn't we knock?"

He was surprised when both Surudoi and Supaiku looked at him funny. After a few weird seconds Surudoi spoke to Kawaii, sounding like she found something funny again. "It's alright Kawaii. This door is only closed in emergencies, from my understanding. We're free to go in."

Kawaii was amazed, to say the least. "Wow, the Hidden Leaf Village _really_ trusts visitors. But with these doors open all the time . . . isn't it possible they could be robbed? I mean, it's _dangerous_ to just leave a door open. Should we close it behind us?"

After a few more seconds of laughter from his group Kawaii heard Baransu say no. While he didn't understand why they should leave the door open, he didn't push the issue any more. His teammates probably knew what they were doing, he guessed. It seemed really rude to just walk in like this though.

Fortunately for Kawaii, his mind was taken off the door when he looked at the village on the other side of the door. The village was _really_ big, like really, _really_ big. There were a lot of people on the streets, and almost immediately Kawaii noticed that a bunch of those people were giving him weird stares. He felt his face turn red again when he realized he must have forgotten something. Okay, was he wearing his shorts? Yeah, he was. Was it his shirt? No, that wasn't it. So if it wasn't his clothing, what was getting everyone's attention? "Are they looking at me funny? Did I do something wrong?"

He heard Baransu chuckle before Supaiku spoke kindly to Kawaii. "It's not you. I think they're more curious about Fluffy. Komodo dragons aren't usually found here."

Poor Kawaii could only cock his head in confusion. Surudoi and Supaiku spoke about komodo dragons a lot, especially when they were talking about Fluffy. But that didn't explain the question, like it normally didn't, so Kawaii had to fill in the blanks. "Uhm . . . so walruses aren't either?"

As Supaiku put a hand to his face, Kawaii heard Surudoi sigh. "No, they aren't."

Oh, okay. Kawaii smiled as he found an easy answer to the problem. He could introduce them to Fluffy, so they wouldn't be afraid of her! All he had to do was walk up to someone, introduce them to Fluffy, then continue that until he had introduced her to everyone! Without another thought Kawaii gently guided Fluffy towards the nearest person.

The person was a boy, but he was much older than Kawaii was. He must have been somewhere around Surudoi and Supaiku's age. He wore a strange t-shirt that looked like it was made out of a net, a very, _very_, short jacket that was grey with a green lining around it, brown shorts, and blue sandals.

He had his hands in his pockets, and was leaning on a wall with his back to it. Kawaii didn't let the boy's curious appearance bother him in the least. "Hi there! I'm Kawaii."

The boy seemed rather surprised, but he also gave a slight grin as he looked at Kawaii. "Shikamaru Nara. Interesting pet you have there."

Kawaii smiled before he shook his head. He wasn't mad that Shikamaru called Fluffy his pet, but Kawaii really felt that he had to correct Shikamaru. "Fluffy's not my pet, she's my friend. She's a walrus!"

Shikamaru gave Kawaii a tired-looking grin before raising his right eyebrow slightly. "Are you _certain_?"

Kawaii nodded again. This was great, so now Shikamaru knew that Fluffy was a walrus! One person down and . . . okay, Kawaii didn't know how many other people were in the village, but it couldn't be that much. He'd be done in no time! Alright, next up was-

"Nadameru Hahaoya?"

Kawaii flinched before he turned around. Who was Baransu talking to? While his intention was to see if Baransu could explain to his friend about Fluffy, so his friend wouldn't be giving a weird stare too, he forgot all about that when he saw Baransu's friend.

She was a little bit shorter than Baransu, and was right now brushing some of her long white hair away from her face. She wore a white flak jacket, with stormy-grey sleeves that came up to her hands. Her pants were that same stormy-grey color, and overall the girl had a very slim figure. But what really confused Kawaii was the fact that the woman's headband was being worn like a blindfold. She probably couldn't see anything like that. The headband itself had a symbol that reminded Kawaii of a sort of tornado, but he couldn't tell what nation the girl was from.

Kawaii jumped when he heard Shikamaru mumble to himself. "A jonin from the Hidden Air Village? If that's true, then she's probably here to enter her squad in the Chūnin exams."

Kawaii cocked his head, but he was surprised when Nadameru spoke to Shikamaru. "If you're trying to speak without me hearing you, it isn't working. The thing about being blind is that your other senses will pick up the slack. And yes, I'm here to enter my squad in the Chūnin exams. What about it?"

Poor Kawaii didn't know what was going on. Shikamaru spoke again, louder this time, and with what almost sounded like _anger_ in his voice. "I'm from the Nara clan. The Nara clan is very close with the Yamanaka clan."

While it looked to Kawaii like Nadameru was shocked, she didn't get a chance to speak. Someone else walked up to them, and he . . . okay, _they_ looked so unusual that Kawaii couldn't help but look. Kawaii knew it was rude, but . . . he just couldn't stop himself from looking. It wasn't just him, either. He heard both Surudoi and Supaiku give startled cries as they saw the person that had just about everyone's attention now.

It was human, that much Kawaii could get. But . . . Kawaii couldn't even begin to figure out what gender the person was. They were the right height for a 13-year-old, and there was a certain childish look about them, but . . . there was something _really _weird about them. The right side of their head had short brown hair that looked rather well kept. But right in the middle of their head, the hair completely changed color. The left side of their head had dark green hair that was quite a bit longer than the hair on the right side of their head, and not nearly as well kept.

The person's right eye was blue while their left eye was yellow. As for clothing, they wore a simple red long-sleeved shirt with loose-fitting blue denim pants. As for gender . . . well, that was what really confused Kawaii. The person possessed quite a bit of masculinity, with a face that looked masculine and even had a slight beard growing. Adding to that idea was the person's hairy arms, which seemed out of place on a younger kid like them.

If he had just seen them, then Kawaii would have thought right away that this was a boy. But the two large bumps that were on the person's chest gave Kawaii an almost overwhelming amount of proof that the person was indeed female. It was just . . . Kawaii was so confused. He had never seen a girl with a beard before, but he had never seen a guy with two large bumps on their chest either.

The person was getting many confused expressions from passerby. However, the person didn't seem to notice or else they didn't seem to care, because they were too busy talking to his or her self. "Did you hear that - what do you think I am, _deaf_? - The Yamanaka clan? Ah, that takes me back - I was wondering if there'd be one in the exams. This should be interesting. - Indeed."

Now Kawaii understood the idea of someone talking to themselves. He did that too every now and then, actually. What he _couldn't_ understand, though, was . . . every time the person interrupted themselves, their voice changed. At first it had sounded like a young male, then it had turned into the voice of a young girl. After that it turned into the voice of a man, followed be the voice of a woman, only to go right back to the voice of a young man again. Needless to say, the person was now drawing a _lot_ of attention.

Even so, the person simply cleared their throat before addressing Shikamaru. This time it was with the voice of a young man, but not the same voice that the person had first used. "Shikamaru of the Nara clan, was it? You must be Shikaku's son, if I'm not mistaken."

Kawaii cocked his head to one side as Shikamaru gave a slightly stern stare towards the person. "That is correct. I may not know your name, but I can already guess that you're from the Sekkachi clan. But for now, let's change the subject. I'm curious to know how you are going to trick your way into the Chūnin exams."

The Sekkachi clan member immediately gnashed their teeth, and took a step towards Shikamaru before abruptly stopping and speaking to themselves, this time in the voice of a man. "Calm down."

The person then took a few deep breaths before addressing Shikamaru, this time in the man's voice. "It's true that our clan has had problems with entering the Chūnin exams before, but I believe we've found a way around it. I would prefer if you did not call it trickery though. It's more a compromise."

Kawaii could only cock his head as he tried to follow what was going on. He got that this person was from the Sekkachi clan, and he got that the Nara clan and the Yamanaka clan did not like the Sekkachi clan. But what confused him most of all was that the Sekkachi clan member wasn't referring to themselves as either a guy or a girl. Poor Kawaii just didn't know which one it was, and it was starting to drive him _crazy!_

As Kawaii tried to figure it out, Shikamaru spoke again. "How do you plan to do that? There's a rule that stops you from entering the Chūnin exams because the requirements your hidan must have in order to function properly are not allowed. From my understanding, your clan made a large scene over this rule almost twenty years ago."

The Sekkachi member grinned before nodding. "Your understanding is correct. However, our clan leader has looked at this law during those twenty years, and we have our answer. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and speak to the Hokage about this very subject."

With that, the Sekkachi clan member turned to leave. However, Shikamaru again spoke. "May I ask for your name? Or rather, what you're calling yourself now?"

Kawaii immediately began paying attention. Some names were for boys, and some names were for girls! If the person said their name, then he should be able to tell! The Sekkachi clan member looked back at Shikamaru and gave him a slight grin. As the person did, they put a hand on their left sleeve.

When the person pushed up their sleeve, Kawaii was shocked to find six letters on the person's arm. Oh, was that their name? Okay then! K, A, N, G, A, N . . . was that it? Kangan? Okay, now was that a boy or a girl's name? Let's see . . . ugh, Kawaii didn't know! Kangan Sekkachi simply chuckled before they walked away. Once they walked out of sight Kawaii saw Shikamaru sigh. "What a drag. This is going to set Ino off."

With that Shikamaru walked away from Kawaii's group and out of sight. For a bit of time Kawaii could only cock his head in confusion as he tried to understand what had just happened. When Surudoi spoke up, it almost got Kawaii to jump. "Kangan Sekkachi . . . what . . . why did they look like that?"

While Kawaii could only shrug, Supaiku spoke up. "She had to be the ugliest girl I have ever . . ."

Kawaii was surprised when Supaiku trailed off and looked at Surudoi before suddenly raising one of his eyebrows. "Oh, my mistake. Kangan had to be the _second_ ugliest girl I have ever seen."

Baransu, Nadameru, and Kawaii flinched as Surudoi froze in place, keeping her gaze firmly on Supaiku. Kawaii couldn't believe it. So Kangan _was_ a girl? As he tried to figure it out, Surudoi spoke to Supaiku in a very scary voice. "You're dead."

Supaiku suddenly ran away from the group. While Kawaii was still trying to figure out what Supaiku had meant by his earlier statement, he was surprised to see Surudoi suddenly sprint after Supaiku. As Kawaii watched Supaiku and Surudoi race out of sight, Baransu suddenly spoke up. "Well, I don't know what I was expecting them to do. Anyways -"

Kawaii flinched again when he heard two voices from behind Nadameru speak up, and he was surprised when he saw two girls walking into view. They both looked really similar to each other, with brown hair and brown eyes. They even dressed similarly, wearing the same stormy-grey shirt and pants. The only real difference between them was that one of them looked slightly younger than the other one.

Naturally, Kawaii smiled and waved at them. While the younger one looked a bit surprised, the older one smiled at Kawaii. "Hey, little guy! What's your name?"

As she spoke, the girl walked over to where Kawaii was and got down to eye-level with him. Kawaii was delighted. "I'm Kawaii!"

The girl smiled broadly. "I see you _really_ live up to that name, Kawaii! My name is Osoreru Kokoro. This here is my sister, Yasuragi."

At this Osoreru motioned towards the younger girl, then at Nadameru. "This is Nadameru sensei. And judging from the weird looks people are giving in the direction of the Hokage's headquarters, I think you've already met our partner, Kangan Sekkachi. Kangan tends to get attention whether Kangan wants to or not."

Kawaii immediately began paying attention again. If these were Kangan's group members, then they _had_ to know Kangan's gender! But Kawaii didn't want to sound rude and just blurt out 'is Kangan a he or a she'. How could he ask this politely . . .

Unfortunately for Kawaii, his attention was brought elsewhere when Yasuragi spoke up. "Anyways, it's nice meeting you Kawaii. But if you don't mind, we'll have to speak later. You see, our sensei has talked about Baransu before, and we wish to find out who's all in his squad."

Kawaii couldn't stop himself from giggling. It was just too funny. "That would be Surudoi, Supaiku, Fluffy, and I!"

Osoreru, Yasuragi, and even Nadameru all flinched before the two sisters looked at Kawaii. While Nadameru's head was turned in Kawaii's direction, since Nadameru couldn't see Kawaii couldn't say that _she_ was looking at him, but he did know she was focused on him. However, her attention quickly turned to Baransu. "Is he telling the truth?"

Baransu gave a grin before folding his arms over his chest. "That's the truth, all right. Kawaii here is a very important part of our team. It's a long story, although if you have the time, I'm willing to tell you."

Nadameru surprised Kawaii when she smiled at Baransu, but Kawaii immediately blushed when his stomach growled again, reminding him of how hungry he was. While he tried to apologize, he was in for a surprise when Nadameru spoke up, sounding rather amused. "Well, what a coincidence. We just got here ourselves, and we were just about to look for a place to eat. Right girls?"

Both Osoreru and Yasuragi nodded, and Kawaii was delighted when Osoreru actually picked him up. "You can come with me, Kawaii. We'll give your friend a little rest for now, okay?"

Kawaii agreed, but they both were surprised when Fluffy walked over to Yasuragi and looked up at her expectantly. Kawaii smiled when Yasuragi looked down at Fluffy, clearly confused. Kawaii blushed, he knew what Fluffy wanted. "He wants to be carried too."

Osoreru immediately burst out laughing as her sister adamantly refused to do so, but Kawaii felt bad as he saw Fluffy's rest his head limply on the ground, obviously sad. Kawaii didn't see Nadameru walking over to Fluffy, so he was surprised when Nadameru kneeled in front of Fluffy and patted her own back. "Hop on, Fluffy."

While Kawaii, Osoreru, and Yasuragi all flinched, Fluffy quickly raced behind Nadameru and leapt up onto her back, his front legs hanging over Nadameru's shoulders and grasping her arms tightly. In return, Nadameru reached down and brought Fluffy's back legs to her waist, which Fluffy quickly wrapped his back legs around. Kawaii smiled when he saw how fast Fluffy was wagging his tail, and Nadameru smiled when Fluffy licked the back of her head. "You're welcome, Fluffy."

Osoreru and Yasuragi both giggled as their sensei gracefully twirled herself around and smiled at her students. "Alright, team! Our mission now is to find the best restaurant in the Hidden Leaf Village! The one and only rule is it has to have . . . Kawaii, are you hungry for anything in specific?"

Kawaii immediately smiled as he stated that he _really_ wanted some curry, and that it was his favorite food. Nadameru smiled at him before she stated that the restaurant _had_ to sell curry then. It wasn't long before Baransu, Nadameru, Osoreru, Yasuragi, Fluffy, and Kawaii were all looking for a good curry shop.

* * *

><p>Now, I've done the math. In order to get Kawaii into the Chunin exams without altering the story, I need to add a few groups of my own invention into the Chunin exams. To keep it from getting too confusing, I plan to introduce each group one at a time, but I introduce all the characters in their respective groups at first.<p>

I know you all are excited to see the original cast mingle with Kawaii's group, so I do feel a bit bad about only having Shikamaru make an appearance here. I promise there will be more mingling in the next chapter.

I'm also going to promise that the next chapter won't take eight or so months to make. I may not know for certain how long it's going to take, but not THAT long.


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